


Freak

by mrswellrested



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Elemental Magic, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Magic, Vampires, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:15:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27332545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrswellrested/pseuds/mrswellrested
Summary: Olivia's been keeping a secret, and one case might expose everything.
Relationships: Olivia Benson/Elliot Stabler
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and welcome to the start of my new fic! This is going to be a little different than most eo fics you're probably used to. I got the idea and it wouldn't leave me alone. I realize this isn't everyone's cup of tea, so no hard feelings if you never read past this author's note. A little background before we get started: This fic takes place after "Raw" (7x06) so just about everything up to the start of this fic is still canon. This is very much an AU fic. This fic is very much an EO fic. I hope you'll stick around and give it a read. Feel free to leave a review telling me what you think, or to let me know how I can improve as a writer. Thanks again!

The soft flickering flame of a candle bathed the room in a warm yellow glow. Olivia sat cross-legged on the floor at the foot of her bed, breathing deeply and evenly. Her head was tilted back slightly and her eyes closed in concentration. She let out a slow breath, allowing her body to relax. Her mind was focused on the tiny flame of the candle that was sitting on the nightstand behind her. She could see it flicker and waver in her mind's eye as clearly as if she were looking at it. Olivia then pictured the flaming leaping from the candle behind her to the candle sitting in the holder in front of her.

She felt something zoom past the side of her face just as her phone rang loudly. Olivia's eyes popped on and her irises shifted from violet back to their usual chocolate brown. The candle in front of her was now lit and the candle behind her extinguished with a light trail of smoke ascending to the ceiling. She sighed and reached up on the bed behind her where her cell phone was still ringing.

"So much for a peaceful evening," she muttered to herself when she saw it was her captain calling. She flipped the phone open and answered. "Benson."

"Olivia, we got a body in Hell's Kitchen," Cragen said over the line. "I already called Elliot. He's on his way to pick you up."

"Okay, thanks, Captain," Olivia said before ending the call. She stood, grabbed the candle, and put out the flame with her fingertips. She rubbed the bit of ash in her fingers and frowned. She hoped it would be an uneventful evening, despite being on call. She sighed and brushed the ash from her fingers and went to change out of her leggings and cami back into her work attire. It was time to switch back into the completely ordinary Detective Olivia Benson.

But she knew she wasn't ordinary. She was far from the quotidian. Her mother called her a freak, though, by Serena's own definition, it also made her a freak.

When she was ten, she asked her mother if they were witches. It was the only way Olivia could rationalize the gifts they had. Serena scoffed at her.

" _Witch is what men call us to dehumanize us. It's so they don't feel bad about killing us. We're not witches. I don't want to hear that out of your mouth again."_

Olivia looped her belt around her pants and clipped her holster, gun, and badge to it. It had been decades since she asked her mother about what they were, and it had only been a couple of months since she learned what those like her were called.

Enchanter.

The name was like a breath of fresh air. She only wished it had been her mother who was the one to tell her and explain it to her instead of a woman who worked for the FBI that she met while working a case.

Dana Lewis was a curious woman, to say the least. From the moment Olivia saw her, she could sense something different about her. It was like she could smell the magic coming off Dana. It was a similar feeling to what she felt when her mother was near. Dana knew instantly what Olivia was. She confronted her when the case was over and before she left to return to the FBI.

" _It's been a while since I met another one of us?" She quipped in her southern accent as she leaned on Elliot's empty desk. "What's your specialty?"_

" _Excuse me?" Olivia asked, looking around the empty bullpen anxiously. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."_

_Dana rolled her eyes."I knew what you were one the moment I saw you. You're an Enchanter, aren't you? What's your specialty? Mine's clairvoyance, ya know, like reading minds, emotions, things like that."_

" _Oh-um-I can manipulate elements. Wait-Enchanter? That's the first time I've heard that, but you're only the second person I've ever met who was like me…"_

_Dana frowned. "What did you think we were, hun?"_

_Olivia shrugged. "My mother always called me a freak, guess it kinda stuck."_

Serena hadn't done much to teach Olivia about the powers she had. She would throw old, handwritten journals at Olivia and told her to read them. Everything she'd need to know was written down in those contained a plethora of knowledge handed down from mother to daughter over the generations. Having the knowledge at her fingertips was nice, but Olivia never understood why her mother didn't teach her herself instead of just making her learn on her own.

Then it all made sense when Serena told her about the rape.

Olivia finally understood why her mother drank herself into oblivion every night. She understood why her mother looked at her with disgust, and it all made sense why her mother didn't want to teach her.

" _It's never going to save you," Serena told her. "It didn't save me. What's the use of having powers if you can't even protect yourself."_

Olivia resented her mother for a long time, but over time, she understood her more and more. Even though it had been a few years since Serena's death, she regretted not having the best relationship with her. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but never got to. There were so many answers she needed, and she feared she'd never get them.

Just as she was grabbing her jacket and wallet, the buzzer for her apartment went off. "Is that you, El?" She asked, her finger on the intercom button.

"Yea, I'm here. You ready?" Elliot's voice sounded.

"I'll be down in a sec," Olivia answered. She released her finger from the button and looked around her apartment. Hopefully, she'd be back before the morning and maybe she could practice some more. She flicked the light switch and walked out.

It started raining by the time they arrived at the crime scene. Olivia watched the crime scene techs rushing to preserve evidence as the rain fell in fat drops. She looked up at the sky and wished she were strong enough to stop the rain. She wasn't even sure if she could stop it from raining. The weather seemed to be a gray area she knew nothing about.

"You okay?" Elliot asked, appearing by her side.

"I'm fine," Olivia said, lowering her head and meeting his gaze. "Just wish it would stop raining."

"Come on, let's get this over with before the rain washes anything useful away."

She wiped the raindrops from her brow and pulled up the hood to her jacket. She followed after Elliot to where Melinda was kneeling over the body of a young woman. One of the medical examiner's assistants was holding an umbrella over the woman, keeping her and the body dry.

"Female, approximately in her early twenties, dead about three hours," Melinda began once the detectives reached her. "Her neck is snapped, and she has bite marks and bruising all over her neck and shoulders. I found fluids, so your perp didn't use a condom."

"What are these bite marks, they don't look human," Elliot asked, kneeling down to get a better look. "They look like some sort of animal."

A shiver went down Olivia's spine as she squatted to look at the bite marks. They definitely weren't human. She knew that besides the people like her there were other supernatural beings in the world. She hoped it was none of them that made the bite marks and just a stray cat or dog.

"Maybe a medium-sized dog, or a very large house cat," Melinda guessed. "I'll be able to tell you more once I get her back on my table."

"The body hasn't been moved?" Olivia asked.

Melinda shook her head. "It doesn't look like it. Why?"

"It just seems like an odd place to leave a body," Olivia said, looking around the alley and down onto the street. "It's almost like the perp wanted her to be found right away. Three hours ago would have been eight o'clock. Plenty of people are still on the streets and plenty of businesses are still open." She frowned and looked down at the woman again before standing. "Do you know who made the call?"

"Guess it was the lady who owns the business next door," Melinda said, nodding her head down the alley. "I think that's her talking to that officer."

Olivia followed Melinda's gaze to where an elderly woman was talking to a young patrol officer while holding an umbrella. She walked over to the woman and gave her a small smile. "My name's Detective Benson. I understand you were the one who reported the body?"

"I was. I'm Maggie Anderson. I own the pottery studio just over here. I was taking the trash out to the dumpster when I found her. Poor thing," the woman answered. "How did she die?"

"It looks like her neck was broken. Did you hear anything? A struggle? A scream? Anything?"

"No, I'm sorry," Maggie shook her head. "As I was telling this officer here, I came out around ten after eight to take the trash out and I found her."

"Have you seen her before?"

Maggie shook her head.

"Have you seen anyone suspicious hanging around lately?"

Maggie shook her head again. "I'm sorry, I'm not of much help."

"It's okay, you've been a big help. Does your shop have any security cameras?"

"None that are outside. The only one I know of is the bank on the corner."

"Great, thank you. I'm going to give you my card. Call me if you think of anything at all," She pulled one of her business cards out of the inner pocket of her jacket and handed it to the elderly woman. Maggie took the card and thanked her before turning to return to her shop. She bid her goodbye before turning to see Elliot joining her. "She didn't see or hear anything, but she said she came out here about ten minutes after Warner's time of death."

"Only ten minutes? And she didn't hear anything? She's right here," Elliot sighed.

"She's an old lady, El, she's probably hard of hearing. But here's a security camera on the corner, so we can probably see our perp coming and going."

"Right," Elliot checked his watch. "It's almost one. Let's say we get some coffee and get back to the house and go over everything, and maybe grab a couple of hours of sleep in the cribs. We're not going to be able to get ahold of anyone who can get us that security footage until morning."

Olivia nodded. "I'll buy this time," she said as they began making their way to the car.

"Oh, are you? What's the occasion?" Elliot asked teasingly.

"Well, you did just recover from being shot, and you are going through a divorce, it's the least I can do."

* * *

Olivia watched the steam rise from her coffee as she sat at her desk in the empty bullpen. With one glance around to make sure she was alone, she went back to staring at the steam. She felt a soft breeze float around her, pushing the steam off to the side. She concentrated and the breeze changed direction and pushed the steam to the other side. When the papers on her desk started to flutter, she ceased her focus, the breeze disappearing instantly. She closed her eyes tight, hoping she hadn't exerted enough power to cause her eyes to turn violet. She couldn't risk Elliot coming back from the bathroom and seeing a tornado of papers flying around the room and her eyes changing colors.

Elliot didn't know about her abilities, of course. No one besides her mother and Dana Lewis knew. She kept her magic hidden and secret, never telling anyone about it out of fear of how they'd react. Her mother would tell her the horror stories about what happened to her long-dead relatives when people found out what they were.

" _We're descendants of Salem," Serena told her when she was thirteen. "Half those poor people they hanged were regular people. The other half were your grandmothers, aunts, and cousins. That's what will happen to people like us if they knew we weren't just fairy tales and fantasies."_

It wasn't the fear of being hanged or burned at the stake that prevented Olivia from telling anyone about herself. It was the fear of being rejected, being written off as crazy, and committed that stopped her. Normal people reject what they deem weird and unexplainable, and Olivia had seen far too much hate in her line of work to even gamble telling anyone.

She only wanted to tell two people in her life. One was her mother's student. He proposed to her and wanted to run away together. She was so in love then, or at least she thought she was. She realized much later what she felt for that man wasn't true love. The other person she wanted to tell was Elliot; her best friend, partner, and man she currently held feelings for.

She opened her eyes again and stared at the styrofoam cup of coffee. Olivia liked to think that Elliot would try to understand her abilities and wouldn't think she was some freak who needed to be locked away and studied. She trusted him with her life, and she knew he trusted her with his. There's nothing she wouldn't do for him, and him for her. It made her feel incredibly guilty at times that she was keeping such a massive secret from him. She told him about every other part of her life. He even sat next to her at her mother's funeral. The "what-if" scenarios that played over and over in her mind were too daunting to face though.

"What did your coffee do to offend you?"

She looked up to see Elliot coming towards their desks. "Huh?"

"You're staring at your coffee like it just stabbed someone," Elliot said. "You alright?"

"Yea, yea, I'm fine. I'm just exhausted."

"Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll come wake you up." He sat down at his desk and booted up his computer. "I don't think we're going to get much done tonight anyway."

"No, I'm alright, I need to stay up and work."

"Liv, go get some sleep," Elliot said more firmly. "Go on. I got it from here."

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Olivia sighed, grabbing her phone and her coffee. "Wake me if you find anything."

"Sure thing."

With one last look at him, Olivia made her way up to the cribs for a much needed nap.


	2. Chapter 2

"Liv, wake up."

She felt a hand on her shoulder lightly shaking her as she came to. She opened her eyes to find Elliot standing over her. His eyes were tired and his tie loosened around his neck. She began to wonder how long she was asleep. Olivia didn't remember falling asleep. When she got up to the cribs, she fell into the first bed she saw and closed her eyes. A yawn escaped her as she stretched, her shirt riding up to expose a strip of skin on her abdomen. She saw Elliot's eyes wander down to the exposed skin before quickly looking back at her face.

"It's just after seven, we need to get over to the bank to get that security footage."

"You let me sleep all night?" Olivia asked, quickly sitting up on the bed. "Why? You were supposed to wake me up."

"You looked like you needed the sleep," Elliot shrugged.

"Did you find anything?" She stood and stretched again, rolling her head from side to side to alleviate the invisible knots.

"We got an ID on our victim. Her name is Sarah Matherson. She's a twenty-two year old student at Hudson University. I sent a request for her records to be sent over and we'll stop by the school later to interview friends and professors."

"Great. You notify next of kin?"

"Called her folks. They didn't answer so I left a message for them to call me back."

"Okay, let me get a coffee and we can go. Anyone else here yet?"

"Cragen just got in," Elliot said. "He wants a brief on the case."

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute. Let me get cleaned up first."

Elliot nodded. "See you downstairs," he said before leaving the cribs.

She watched the door close behind him and opened her locker. She grabbed her brush and ran it through her hair as she stared at her reflection in the small magnetic mirror. Olivia was trying to decide if she imagined Elliot staring at her when she stretched or not. Since Elliot and Kathy separated, she noticed Elliot's glances seemed to linger longer on her.

Straightening her clothes and putting the brush back in her locker, she shook her head and closed the metal door. She had to be imagining it all. Elliot was still very much in love with his wife. He didn't want the divorce. Why would he be looking at her? No, she had to be overthinking everything and hoping maybe one day her feelings would be returned.

She couldn't pinpoint when her feelings for Elliot changed from platonic to romantic. It had to be in their first couple years of partnership. It was always something forbidden, something she could never have though. He was married and devoted to his wife and family, and she respected that. Olivia wasn't a homewrecker. So she kept her feelings also a secret to live on in her dreams and fantasies.

Things have changed though, but Olivia didn't want to get her hopes up. Even if Elliot did feel something for her, even if he divorce his wife to be with her, Olivia wouldn't feel right about being with him while keeping such a huge part of herself secret. Secrets and relationships never mixed and never ended well.

She left the cribs and went down to the bullpen to find Elliot writing on the whiteboard and Cragen leaning back on the edge of Munch's desk. "Morning," she greeted the captain before beelining to the coffee pot. As she stirred the powdered cream into her cup, she joined Elliot at the whiteboard.

"So our victim is twenty-two year old, Hudson U student Sarah Matherson. She was found dead in an alley on West 49th Street, no ID on her. She was found raped and bitten by what we think was an animal. Suspected cause of death is a neck fracture. We're still waiting for Warner to finish the autopsy. Her prints were run through the system and we identified her from a child clearance form she filled out last year," Elliot began.

"She was found by shop owner, Maggie Anderson, at approximately 8:10 PM, just ten minutes after Warner's time of death estimate. She discovered the body when she was taking out the trash to the dumpster. She also said she didn't hear anything in the time leading up to Sarah's death," Olivia continued.

"We're going to pick up security footage from a bank near the crime scene. We're also going to stop by Hudson to see if anyone held any sort of grudge or anything against Sarah. Her parents weren't available, so I left a message asking them to call me back."

Cragen nodded and looked over the information and pictures on the board. "Did you do everything through ViCap?" He asked.

"I did, nothing comes up that matches this," Elliot said.

"Alright, get that security footage and start asking around," Cragen said as he pushed off the desk. "I'll have Munch and Fin follow up on any leads once they get in. Hopefully, we can give Novak some information by the end of the day. Call if you need anything."

They nodded and watched the captain retreat to his office. Olivia took a long drink of her coffee, set it down on her desk, and grabbed her jacket. "Well, let's get moving. I'll drive."

The bank didn't put up a fight and let them view the security footage when the detectives arrived. The two of them stared blankly at the screen in front of them. On the security footage they saw Sarah walking down the street. In a flash, she was yanked into the alleyway. They continued to watch the video, but no one was seen leaving the alley until police arrived. Olivia asked the security officer to rewind the tape back before the attack, hoping they'd catch their perp entering the alley.

No one entered the alley at all. The last person to enter the alley was a homeless person, and they didn't stay there. They were gone long before the attack.

Olivia was stumped. There was no way out of the alley. There weren't even fire escapes for someone to go up or down. The idea of their perp not being human seemed more and more likely and made her anxious.

"We'll need a copy of that," Elliot said to the guard. "That's the only camera you have facing that direction."

"Yes, sir," the guard said. "Sorry, it can't be of more help." He handed the tape to Elliot before returning to staring at the grid of screens in front of him.

"It's weird," Elliot said as they walked out of the bank to the car. "There's no other way in or out of that alleyway. Are we looking for Spiderman?"

Olivia chuckled. "Maybe. Stranger things have happened." She meant the comment to be light and a joke, but she knew this was probably going to be the strangest case they ever dealt with.

Sarah was a model student. She made the dean's list every semester. She volunteered for several organizations and was hoping to one day become an immigration attorney. According to her friends and roommate, she had no enemies, everyone loved her. She was kind to everyone and didn't go out partying. There were no boyfriends, girlfriends, or exes to speak of either.

"She's got to be just a random victim," Olivia said as they drove back to the precinct. "Our perp saw her and decided she was it."

Elliot's phone began to ring and he dug it out of his breast pocket and checked the caller ID. "Maybe her parents can shed more light on everything," he said. "They're calling now." He put the phone to his ear, glancing over to Olivia. "This is Detective Stabler...Your daughter is Sarah Matherson of Hudson University?...I think it's best that you come down to our precinct to talk...Right, we'll see you then." He ended the call and sighed. "They'll be here in a couple of hours. They're driving down."

"There weren't any manholes in that alley," Olivia asked, her mind returning to their perp. She couldn't shake the thought of their suspect being something other than human. She didn't want to face that possibility. "Maybe they came up out of the sewer?"

"I don't think so. We can double-check."

She remained quiet as she drove the rest of the way. Olivia could feel his eyes on her. When she pulled the car into the precinct garage and parked, Elliot put a hand on her arm before she could get out of the car.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a gentle tone.

"Nothing," Olivia said. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

He shrugged. "You just seem really uptight about this case. More than usual."

"It's just perplexing," Olivia said with a shrug. "That's all."

Elliot frowned. "If you're sure that's all. You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I'm sure," she lied.

"Okay," he answered slowly. "Come on, let's see if they found anything while we were gone."

She followed Elliot out of the garage and back into the precinct, feeling sick with herself that she was lying to him. She wanted to believe that she could talk to him about anything, but she wasn't so sure he'd understand.

When they reached the bullpen, they found Munch on the phone and Fin looking through crime scene photos. Munch waved Olivia down and put his hand over the phone's receiver.

"Warner's looking for you two. She's got the autopsy results," he said.

"Why didn't she just drop them off?" Olivia asked.

Munch shrugged. "She said she wanted to talk to you in person about it."

Olivia felt her stomach sink even more. That couldn't be good. "Alright, thanks John," Olivia said, turning around to find Elliot about to sit down at his desk. "We're off to Warner's."

* * *

Olivia hated the autopsy lab. It was always so cold and no matter how many layers she wore. She never could get warm there. She knew it wasn't actually as cold as she thought. Melinda was fine working in a pair of scrubs and Elliot's suits weren't that thick. She knew it was sensitivity brought on by what she was. The dead had a physical effect on her. The same thing happened when she went to cemeteries. It was the lingering spirits that brought about the chill.

She couldn't communicate with them, but she wished she could. It would make her job a whole lot easier to just ask a spirit who killed them. Olivia knew there were Enchanters who could speak to the dead and interact with them. She read about it in one of the journals her mother gave her.

"What do you got for us?" Elliot asked once Melinda joined them.

Warner pulled back the sheet covering Sarah's face. "Cause of death is a cervical fracture. Her neck was broken just below the C1 vertebrae. I found bruising on her neck and jaw. Your perp had their hand right under her jaw and twisted her neck in a violent motion."

"Sort of like the method armed forces are trained to use to silently kill an enemy?" Olivia questioned.

"Exactly. It was quick and she didn't suffer. Now, onto the bite marks. I swabbed for DNA from the bite and the fluids on her pelvic region and sent it off to the lab. I got the results back just before you came. It's not human."

"Well, we figured that about the bite marks, but you're saying this sick freak put animal fluids on her too?" Elliot questioned. "So what are we talking about? Cat? Dog?"

"You didn't let me finish. It's not an animal either, at least, not any animal DNA we cataloged."

Olivia wasn't sure if her stomach could sink any lower. It was the confirmation she'd been waiting for. Whatever attacked Sarah was supernatural.

"So what is it?" Elliot asked.

"I don't know. I've been asking around. Apparently there was a similar case in Pittsburgh. The body of an accidental drowning victim was found in the Allegheny river with comparable bite marks. They couldn't trace the DNA to any animal and decided it had to be some sort of species of fish living in the river."

"I could believe that if our vic was pulled out of the water, but she was found in an alley nowhere near the river."

"I know. I'll keep working on it. In the meantime, I'm waiting on the results for the thumbprint I was able to lift off her jaw."

Elliot sighed. "So we got nothing?"

"I'm not a miracle worker," Warner said, giving Elliot a look. "I'm trying."

"Thank you," Olivia said. "Call us when those lab results come back." Before Elliot could offend the medical examiner anymore, Olivia pushed him out of the lab so they could return to the bullpen.


	3. Chapter 3

The journals from the chest she kept in her closet were spread across her coffee table as Olivia poured over them that night. Cragen sent them home after a day of no answers or leads. Olivia was happy to return to her apartment. Between the possibility of hunting down a supernatural being and hearing Sarah Matherson's mother wail when she learned her daughter was dead drained her.

Most nights when she left work, she would practice her abilities. Olivia liked to keep them sharp and in check even though she only ever used them in the privacy of her home. Besides conjuring the occasional breeze to play with the steam coming from her drink while no one was around, Olivia didn't use her gifts when she was actively working a case. The one time she did, things ended very badly and she promised herself she'd never use them while she worked again.

As she opened a leather-bound journal, her cup of tea was stirring itself thanks to a little vortex of wind she conjured up. As she flipped through the journal she halted the wind and took a sip of the tea as she stopped on a page filled with small, cursive print. Below the paragraph was a drawing of what looked to be the exact bite pattern they found on their victim.

"Vampire," Olivia read and let out a groan. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

The paragraph described vampires as humanoid creatures that could blend in among humans. Unlike the vampires in popular culture, these vampires could go out in the day and couldn't be killed by a stake through the heart. Vampires usually lived together in what was called a clan. They weren't undead and the process of being turned into a vampire was tedious. Their teeth resembled the teeth of a cat and they needed to drink human blood to survive. They could only be killed by Enchanters, Mages, or Werebeings as they were the only groups of supernatural beings that were strong enough to kill a vampire.

Olivia snapped the journal shut and groaned. They were looking for a vampire that apparently only she would be able to kill. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain that one. Assuming she and Elliot could track the perp down, it wasn't as though she could blast them with fire when Elliot wasn't looking and expect no one to question why their suspect was charred and dead.

The only way to ensure their perp couldn't hurt anyone else was for Olivia to hunt them down herself. A vampire was never going to allow themselves to be arrested. They'd kill everyone and get away. No, Olivia was going to have to find them and kill them.

She never met a supernatural creature before. When she was a child, she wanted to go to the ocean to meet the mermaids. Her mother squashed that dream by telling her the mermaids would want to drown her and use her bones as toothpicks.

" _They're nothing like the silly fairy tales. They're all evil beings."_

Olivia wasn't sure if it was her mother's bitterness towards the magical world, or if she was telling the truth and the supernatural creatures they existed alongside were malicious. She didn't want to really find out. She was just fine avoiding them and keeping that part of her world unknown.

As Olivia opened the journal again, a knock came from her apartment door. She looked to the door, wondering who would be visiting so late. No one asked to be buzzed in, so she figured it was probably one of her neighbors. Placing the journal on the table, she pushed herself up from the couch and went to the door. She looked through the peephole and was surprised to see Elliot on the other side. Olivia unlocked the deadbolt and unlatched the chain before opening the door a couple of inches.

"Elliot? What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't get to sleep, figured you'd be up and I know you didn't eat yet," he said, holding up a bag filled with food containers. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure," Olivia said, glancing back at her coffee table. "How'd you get in?"

"Oh, your neighbors recognized me and let me in the building as they were leaving," he responded as Olivia stepped aside to let him in.

"Just let me clear the table," she said, closing the door behind him quickly and walking swiftly to the coffee table to close all the journals.

"Didn't take you as someone who'd keep diaries," Elliot said, setting the bag of food on the counter.

"They're-uh-they're my mom's," Olivia said. "I was just thinking about her today and I have all her old journals."

Elliot nodded understandingly. "Some day today, huh?" He said as he began unloading the bag of food.

"Yea, it was weird," Olivia replied as she gathered the journals into her arms and took them into her room. She dumped them on her bed, intending to look through them some more before she returned to the living room, closing the bedroom door behind her. "Smells good. What did you bring?"

"Chinese," Elliot answered. "I got your favorite." He handed her the container of sesame chicken and stir-fried vegetables. He grabbed his own container and the two bottles of water he brought before following her to the coffee table. "So, we didn't really get a chance to talk about it, but what do you think made those bite marks?"

"I don't know," Olivia answered. "They look like cat bites to me, but that's not what they are apparently."

"What if it's something we've never discovered?"

"Like a new species of animal? I doubt it. This is New York City, not a remote jungle."

"Yea, I guess," Elliot sighed, stuffing his mouth with food. She watched as he chewed and she could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. "Do you think it's-"

"What?"

"Alien? Or supernatural or something like that?"

Olivia almost choked on her vegetables. "Excuse me? Since when did you start believing in all that?"

"I mean, I don't," Elliot shrugged. "Not really, but how else do you explain the bite marks and the lack of evidence that there was ever someone in that alley?"

"I don't know, El," Olivia sighed. "I think...I think there are things in this world that can't be explained, and I don't think we'll ever understand it. But I highly doubt it was a ghost or demon or whatever." _If only it was something simple like that_ , she added silently in her mind.

"We'll figure it out," Elliot said before taking another bite of food. "Kathy called today."

"Oh?" Olivia asked, thankful the subject was dropped. "What happened?"

"She just wants to talk about the divorce," he answered. "She wants it to be amicable and doesn't want to have to go through the courts to figure everything out."

"Did you sign the papers then?" Olivia asked a little too curiously.

Elliot shook his head. "They're still sitting on my kitchen counter. I haven't decided if I'm going to sign them."

Olivia frowned. "El-"

"I know, I know," he said, sighing and setting his half-empty container of food on the table. "It's what Kathy wants. She doesn't think we can fix the marriage. She doesn't want to try."

"And you think it can be fixed?" Olivia felt her heart dropping in her chest. Of course, Elliot would want to fix his marriage. Why wouldn't he? She was stupid to even think about getting her hopes up.

"I-I don't know. I wanted to try to make it work though." He shook his head. "She didn't even try. As soon as we separated she started dating again."

Olivia frowned. "How do you know?"

"Kathleen told me," Elliot said. "How could she do that? How could she just throw it all away?"

"I don't know, El," Olivia said softly. They fell silent and Olivia stared down at her food before deciding she was no longer hungry. She put the lid back on the container and leaned back on the couch. "Have you thought about dating again?"

He shrugged. "Sort of," he said. "But...I don't know."

"You're allowed to date. You're separated."

"I know, but maybe it's too soon."

"Yea, I understand that," Olivia said softly.

"Besides, who'd want to date me? I'm never around. I have a temper problem. I'm married to the job. At least that's what Kathy says."

"You'd be surprised," Olivia responded, tucking her legs under her on the couch. "I know you want to fix things between you and Kathy, but if things don't work and you decide to go through with the divorce, don't be afraid to look for someone." She clenched her fingers against her thigh. She wanted to scream at him. She was right there and he'd never notice. "I just want you to be happy, with whatever you decide you want to do."

He stared at her for a moment, and Olivia would give anything to know what he was thinking as he looked at her. "Thanks, Liv," Elliot said, giving her one of his grins a few seconds later. "I want you to be happy too, you know."

"Thanks, but my happiness isn't relevant in all this."

He playfully nudged her. "Maybe not, but still, I want you to be happy too regardless." He paused and she could see his eyes looking her over. "You okay still? This case is really bugging you."

"Yea, it's just frustrating. We're getting nowhere. I just want Sarah and her parents to get the justice they deserve," Olivia said.

"We'll get it for them, and we don't stop until we do. No matter what."

No matter what. Olivia didn't like the sound of that. Elliot didn't know the lengths she was about to go to to make sure this case was brought to a close and Sarah got her justice. It hurt her, the idea of leaving Elliot out of this. She hated keeping everything a secret from him, but it was for the best. She couldn't risk the possibility, however small it may be, of Elliot disappearing from her life if he found out about her. She'd also not risk his life. Olivia would never forgive herself if something happened to him because of the world she was tied up into.

"Yea, we'll figure it out," Olivia said after a moment. "It's getting late. You going back to your place or staying on my couch?"

"If your couch will have me, I'll stay. I'm too tired to drive home."

Olivia's lips turned upward in a small smile. "The couch will have you. I'll get you some blankets and pillows.


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you know about vampires?"

Olivia could hear Dana fall silent on the other end of the line. She hoped the other woman knew something that could help her with this case, but she wasn't taking Dana's silence as a good sign. Olivia spent the last three days researching, but her family's journals could only get her so far. She needed to ask someone who belonged to her chaotic world longer than she had.

"They're tough sons of bitches," Dana answered after a moment. "Usually they stick in their groups and stay out of everyone's way. But every once and a while you get someone who decided to go rogue. I only ever ran across one once when I was a teenager. Took my mother, my two aunts, and myself to bring it down. Why? What's up, Benson?"

"We have this rape homicide case. Our vic was found in an alley with a broken neck and bite marks. There's no evidence of anyone entering or leaving the alley. No one saw or heard anything. The DNA from the bite mark isn't human or animal. I was reading some family journals and it sounds like maybe my perp is a vampire."

"Shit," Dana swore. "You're never going to catch them. And if you do, your only option is to kill it. You can't bring them to trial or imprison them. Honestly, though...you're better off just letting it go and letting the case go cold. You don't want to mess with them."

"That's what I was afraid of," Olivia sighed. "But I can't just let it go. I need to get them off the streets before they start racking up the bodies."

"Olivia, I mean no offense by this, but are you even strong enough to take down a vampire? Did you miss the part where I said it took four of us to take one down?"

"I'll figure something out," Olivia sighed. "I need to find it first."

"Well when you do, let me know. I'll try to come help you deal with it," Dana said. "Can't let you get yourself killed."

"Any way I could find it?"

"Could always ask around," Dana suggested.

Olivia snorted. "Yea, where?"

"You'd be surprised how big the magical community is. There's a club called the Magician's Hand in the East Village. Start there," Dana said. "Just stay away from the Fae. Tricky bastards. Listen, I have to go. Keep me updated? I'll try to help as best I can."

"I will. Thanks, Dana." Olivia ended the call and sat her phone on the coffee table in front her. She buried her face in her hands and let out a frustrated groan. She felt like she was going nowhere. They ran out of leads and the case was quickly going cold. Elliot was just as frustrated as she was. She wanted to divulge her theories to him, but it wasn't as though she could walk up to him and say "Hey our perp is a vampire, let's go hunt him down."

Now, she was being thrust into this supernatural world alone. The thought of even going to some magical club by herself was off-putting. She spent nearly her entire life in the dark about what she was. All she ever knew was her mother's bitterness towards magic and all the information she taught herself from the journals. She'd been content with that for so long, but everything was changing now.

She looked down at her watch and sighed at the time. She needed to get back to the precinct. In front of her was a moleskin journal she had been writing in. Her notes of vampires were minimal and pathetic. Olivia hoped that combining all the information from the journals would help put things in perspective. Her handwriting mocked her as she closed the book.

An hour later she was sitting down across from Elliot at her desk. She aggressively stirred a packet of sweetener into her tea as she stared at the case file in front of her. If she was just an ordinary detective, nothing about this case would make sense. They would eventually have to move on to other cases. Then it was going to be labeled a cold case and put into a box to be stored in a warehouse on the other side of the city.

But she wasn't an ordinary detective and she had the power to bring this all to a close.

"Are you okay?" Elliot asked, his voice breaking through the thought spiral she was falling down.

"Fine," Olivia answered, not looking up from the file.

"Really? Because you're stirring your tea so hard you're splashing it everywhere."

Olivia blinked and looked at her cup to see little drops of tea on her desk and papers. "Oh." She grabbed a tissue to clean up the mess. "Sorry I've been distracted."

"I can tell. Liv, we've had cases like this before. A case going cold isn't the end of the world...so what's up? Really?"

"It's nothing," Olivia answered. "I guess...I guess this just bothers me more because she really was a random victim who was just minding her own business. How often does that happen? How often have we had a completely random victim?"

"I know," Elliot said. "But we're not going to give up. We'll figure it out."

"How was dinner with the kids last night?" Olivia asked, wanting to get off the subject.

"It went okay. No one walked out this time," Elliot said with a laugh. "Maureen wants the divorce to go through. She said it would not only be better for them, but it would be better for us."

"She's always been wise beyond her years," Olivia said. "Have you given the divorce anymore thought?"

Before Elliot could answer, Cragen showed up at their desks, frowning. "We got another body. Central Park. Details are the same as Sarah Matherson."

"Let's go," Elliot said as he stood and grabbed his coat.

Olivia grabbed her coat and followed after him, silently dreading what they were about to walk into.

* * *

"Elise Morgan," Melinda said, handing them the evidence bag that held their victim's ID. "Twenty-four, neck broken, bruising and bite marks found on the neck and shoulders, and fluids present. Liver temp indicates she's been dead about four hours."

"Four hours puts the time of death at six this morning," Olivia said. "There would have been plenty of joggers around at that time, and this spot isn't far from the path. Someone coming from the opposite direction would have seen the whole thing."

"There haven't been any reports of suspicious activity yet today," Elliot said.

Olivia frowned as she looked up in the direction towards the path. She didn't understand how no one could have seen the rape and murder. They weren't in a secluded part of the park. The trail was well used by morning joggers. As far as she knew, vampires didn't have powers of invisibility.

"No evidence she was dragged here," Elliot said as he looked around. He seemed to spot something on the ground and knelt down. "But we do have footprints."

"We do?" Olivia's curiosity piqued and she walked carefully across the leaf-covered ground to where Elliot was kneeling. In the dirt and leaves, there were faint footprints in the semi damp earth. "We'll have forensics make a mold and match the shoe. Maybe we can get lucky and trace the perp through a shoe sale," she suggested to Elliot. She knew it was all for not. Even if they did trace the shoe to a manufacturer or store, it didn't change the fact that their perp wasn't human. Olivia hoped tracing the origin of the shoe would buy her enough time to start asking around.

"It's something," Elliot said. "Which is a whole lot better than what we had before."

"We better get back. Cragen's gonna want to be briefed."

When they returned to the station, they began gathering all their evidence to present to the rest of the squad. Olivia knew it was going to be a late-night as they poured over evidence. Her plans for going to the East Village were diminishing more and more as the day went. She sighed as she taped a picture of their latest victim to the whiteboard.

"So we have no connection between Sarah Matherson and Elise Morgan," Olivia said, stepping back from the board and looking it over. "Sarah was a model student at Hudson. Elise was just hired as a cashier at the Target in Midtown after serving a year in a county jail for a drug charge. No next of kin. Her parents are deceased. No siblings, no extended family. The only thing they have in common is that they're both seemingly random victims and both found in public places where there should have been people around to see the attack." She turned to see Cragen standing next to Elliot while Fin and Munch were sitting at their desks.

"Both found with fluids present, the same bite marks, and broken necks," Elliot added. "But we didn't find any footprints at the first crime scene. We're waiting for the mold to set so we can try to trace the shoe."

"We're thinking our perp was waiting in the woods and when he saw Elise, he grabbed her and carried her back to the spot he was waiting based on the lack of drag marks. The trail doesn't have any cameras, but we're looking for anyone who was in the park at that time," Olivia continued.

"There are hundreds of people who use that trail every morning," Munch said. "You're saying no one saw anything?"

"So far," Elliot answered. "Nothing suspicious was reported until the body was discovered."

"Is it possible that Warner's time of death is off for both bodies?" Munch asked.

"I suppose it's possible," Olivia said. "But I highly doubt she got it wrong."

"And the DNA?" Cragen chimed in. "We still don't have anything on that?"

"Came back as not human. Not an animal either," Elliot said.

"So are we thinking it's maybe something synthetic?"

"Oh, that's great. Juice cooked up in a lab," Fin snorted.

"Either way, we can't figure out what it is," Olivia sighed. "We're dead in the water on this one."

Her stomach twisted itself into one giant knot as the lies poured from her mouth. She hated everything about this case and just wanted it to be over. Sleep be damned, she was going to find that club tonight and try to put an end to all this.


	5. Chapter 5

The Magician's Hand was a small magic shop in a quiet part of the East Village. Olivia was skeptical at first as she stared at the display of trick playing cards, top hats, and stuffed rabbits in the window. When she walked to the door, a closed sign was hung on the glass. A soft yellow light came from inside the shop, and before Olivia could turn away, the door clicked and opened on its own. She glanced up and down the empty street before stepping into the building.

Sitting at the counter was a short, elderly man. He looked bored as he flipped through an outdoors magazine. He glanced up at her as she approached and cocked his head. "Haven't seen you before," he said. "You new to the city? I know all the Enchanters that live here."

"No," Olivia answered. "Just new to this...community."

"Ah, a solitary practitioner. We don't see a lot of those anymore. Go right on through. Name's Ralph, by the way."

"Olivia. How did you know I was an Enchanter?"

"You really are new, huh? I can smell it on you," Ralph said, his eyes flashing a golden yellow as the door behind him opened.

"I thought Enchanters were all women."

"They are. I'm a Mage. Think of it as the male version. Now, get on in there. I'm sure you'll find someone in there that can help you."

She didn't bother asking how he knew and slipped through the door. Her hand was instinctively on her hip where her gun was concealed beneath her peacoat. She followed the long narrow hall to a beaded curtain where soft light and music were coming from the doorway. She pushed her way through the beads and found herself in a small bar. Upbeat jazz music was being played by a live band set up in the corner of the bar. There were couples and small groups of people sitting at round candlelit tables around the room. Some people were dancing on the tiny dance floor in the middle of the room. Smoke filled the room, but it wasn't tobacco. It smelled like sage, lavender, and sandalwood. No one seemed to notice when she entered, and Olivia was thankful for that.

She walked over to the bar and sat down at a stool while trying to take in everything around her. The club reminded her of a prohibition-era speakeasy. All that was missing were mobsters and flappers.

"What can I get you?"

Olivia turned her head to see a woman with dark blue tattoos of tree branches and flowers across her eyes. Her wine-colored hair was pulled up in a messy bun and her ears had a slight point to them. A heavy floral smell lingered around her and for a moment, Olivia thought she stepped into a florist's shop.

"Cabernet, if you have any," Olivia said.

The woman nodded and went to the other end of the bar allowing Olivia to look around the club more. At one table she spotted a woman reading Tarot cards to a young couple. At another, a man was examining stones with runes carved into them.

"Ralph said you're new."

Olivia turned back around to find the woman setting a glass of wine down in front of her. "Uh, yea," Olivia answered. "Word travels fast."

"Only if you can do telepathy," the woman laughed. "I'm Freya, by the way. You're Detective Olivia Margret Benson and you're here looking for information about a vampire. You need to work on your blocking. You're like an open book."

"Noted," Olivia said, not sure what to feel about having her mind read. "But yes, I am looking for information about a vampire."

Freya grinned. "I know just the person you can ask. See the man sitting in the corner?"

Olivia turned her head slightly and followed Freya's stare. Sitting alone in a corner was a large, burly man with a bald head and a bushy dark beard. He was drinking beer from a tall beer mug. Olivia turned back to face Freya. "What about him?"

"That's Fin. He's a werewolf, so he'll know all the local dirtbags," Freya sniffed. "Ugh, werebeings are so gross. It's not even real magic they have. It's just an affliction."

"That's rude," Olivia commented, her brow furrowing.

"You'll learn. There's a hierarchy to the magical beings. Enchanters, Mages, Druids, Fae are on top. Then you have your Merpeople and Shapeshifters, and then at the bottom, you have Werebeings, Vampires, Spirits, etc, etc."

"That's incredibly offensive," Olivia said, not believing what she was hearing.

Freya shrugged. "It is what it is." She then turned to take care of another patron. Olivia threw a couple of bills on the counter and grabbed her glass of wine. She walked over to the corner where the man named Fin was sitting. "Do you mind if I sit?"

Fin gave a shrug. "It's fine, I guess," he said. "Heard you talking to Freya."

"She mentioned you might be able to help me."

"Stupid fairy bitch," Fin grunted. "Just because I'm a werewolf doesn't mean I run with vampires."

"So you can't help?"

"No, I can, I think. I just hate that she assumes I run with that scum." Fin sighed and downed the rest of his beer. "What do you want to know?"

"There have been two women found dead," Olivia said in a low voice, not wanting to be overheard. "Both found with broken necks and bite marks. I figured out it was a vampire, but I'm not sure how to go about finding who it is and how to get to him."

"I heard rumors," Fin answered. "From my pack that there was a new vampire in the city. Most stick with their clans and keep out of trouble, but this one is rogue. As for finding him, good luck. Rogue vamps never stay in one place for long."

"There's no way I could track him?"

"You're an Enchanter aren't you? Just do a tracking spell."

Olivia blinked. "A what?"

"A tracking spell. You know with the herbs and the crystals and the ritual? I don't know what you Enchanters and Mages do."

"Right, thanks," Olivia sighed, feeling more and more hopeless. "Is there anyway you could help?"

Fin frowned. "You could ask Heather over there," he said, pointing to a table behind Olivia. "She's another Enchanter. I think her specialty is spellwork. Otherwise, there's not much I can do. My Alpha doesn't want the pack involved in anything dealing with vampires. I'm sure Heather can point you in the right direction though."

"Just announce my business to everyone why don't you," a woman called out from behind Olivia. "Jesus Fin."

Fin rolled his eyes. "Sorry, that's all I got."

"Thanks," Olivia said, grabbing her glass and standing. She turned around only to be met face to face with a woman with purple hair and sharp blue eyes. "You're Heather, I assume."

"I am," she said, crossing her arms and glaring at Fin. "Someone can't keep their mouth shut about me, so I thought I'd come see what you needed."

"Uh, well, nothing," Olivia said as she glanced around to find everyone staring. She felt suddenly small and out of place. She was out of her element. Here she was just Olivia the Enchanter, a no one who knew practically nothing. "I think I should get going. Thanks for the help," she said to Fin before setting her glass down and walking towards the beaded curtain.

The night air was cold, but at least she could feel like she could breathe again. She felt ridiculous. Going to the Magician's Hand was a bad idea. She was perfectly content living her own life in her own world. She didn't need anyone else. Especially if those other people were rude and jaded towards other beings. Everything she did was working for her.

"Hey, wait!"

Olivia glanced over her shoulder to find Heather jogging towards her.

"I'm sorry about back there," the younger woman said. "We're all uptight and guarded. It's not every day someone new comes in and it's not every day we have a rogue vampire running loose. We don't mean to turn anyone away."

"I understand, but I think I might have better luck dealing with this on my own," Olivia answered coolly.

"How? You can't even track it."

"Could we not have this conversation out in public?" Olivia said. There was no danger of being overheard. It was well past midnight. Most people were asleep now, not caring about what was going on on the streets below.

"Then come back. If you're so insistent about going after this vamp, I can help get you the things you'll need to track it at least. That's all I can really do, unfortunately. I'm not going after a vampire."

Olivia took a moment and considered her options. She remembered what Dana said about not being able to do this by herself. She sighed realizing this was probably her only chance to get anywhere. "Alright," she said.

"Come on," Heather said. "It's a simple spell, but effective."

* * *

She stared at the two, tall, white pillar candles on her coffee table and watched as the wick became alight with a flame. Olivia then set the small cotton pouch filled with herbs on a glass plate and surrounded it with amethyst, clear quartz, azurite, obsidian, and hematite crystals. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath, trying to calm her nerves. She never did anything like this before and was afraid it wouldn't work. Heather promised if Olivia did everything right, she'd be able to successfully track the vampire and find him. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and fixing her gaze upon the small cloth bag. She set her intentions and watched as the bag began to burn. Light smoke filled her living room, and she was thankful she decided to take the batteries out of the smoke detector before starting the ritual.

She breathed in the smoke as Heather instructed and focused on her goal. When nothing happened, Olivia thought she might have done something wrong and botched the spell, but then it hit her.

It felt like she was falling as scenes of the city began to flash before her in her mind's eyes. The falling sensation faded as she appeared in what looked to be an abandoned subway tunnel. She could make out faded paint on the brink that read "Track 61." She could hear music coming from one end and willed herself to move forward.

A flickering blue light came from a doorway off the tunnel and she looked inside to see a man sitting on a cot watching a small tv set up in the corner of the room. He was pale and had an angular face with a strong jawline. His dark hair was coiffed and styled impeccably. He was dressed in a black, long-sleeved button-down shirt and black pants. Olivia thought he was rather attractive looking.

As though he knew she was there, he turned his head and she saw his eyes. Even with the lack of light, she could tell they were a deep shade of red. He smiled at her and Olivia saw the sharp fangs.

"I see you," he said, grinning madly now. "And I'm waiting for you, Olivia.."

Olivia's eyes popped open and it took her a moment to remember she was in her apartment. There was no more smoke filling the room and her candles had gone out. The bag that once held the herbs was nothing but a pile of ash. She looked at her watch and her eyes widened. It was nearly four in the morning. When she started the spell, it was just after two.

Track 61 was a new clue to her though. She knew there were abandoned subway tunnels and stations under the city, but she wasn't sure how she was going to get to it.

She looked around her apartment again to make sure she was still quite alone. Olivia was beginning to think she imagined it all. Perhaps it was just paranoia taking over. He had seen her. How could he have seen her? How did he know her name?


	6. Chapter 6

"Did you crash right when you got home yesterday?"

Olivia looked from the family she'd been watching down the street over to Elliot in the driver's seat. They were picking up a victim from a previous case to give her a ride to the court house for the sentencing of her attacker. Olivia wasn't thinking about that though. She was still thinking about the face she'd seen the night before and how she was going to get down into the abandoned tunnels to find him. "Yea, but I didn't say asleep," Olivia lied. "Tossed and turned all night."

"Should have called, I was up," Elliot replied as he reached for this cup of coffee. "Lizzie needed help with a science project she waited to the last minute to do."

"I almost forgot you had the kids this weekend. How are they?"

"The same. Kathleen is now pushing me to just sign the divorce papers. It seems to be what they want." He sighed and took a long drink from the cup. "I told her I still needed to think about it."

Olivia nodded, not wanting the conversation to continue. She avoided his eyes and looked back down the street as the front door to the building they were sitting in front of opened. A young woman with long blonde hair stepped out and spotted the car. She smiled, waved at Olivia, and opened the back door.

"Thank you so much for giving me a ride," she said as she slid into the back seat.

"No problem, Jessica," Elliot said. "You nervous?"

"A little. Mostly because I want him to get the maximum they can give," Jessica confessed. "But I know after today, it will all be over and I can finally go on with my life."

A half hour later they dropped their passenger off at the courthouse and Olivia watched Elliot escort her inside. Olivia rested her head against the headrest and closed her eyes, trying to drown out the sounds of the city. Her mind once again returned to the face of the man she saw in the abandoned tunnel. She figured she could use her badge to get access to old transit authority blue prints to find a way into the tunnel.

Her phone rang and she jumped slightly as the noise broke through her thoughts. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the phone to find Munch's name on the caller ID.

"Benson," she answered.

"Hey, we have a lead on the Matherson-Morgan cases," Munch said. "We have a witness who saw the perp leaving the area where Elise Morgan's body was found. They're with the sketch artist now."

"That's great," Olivia replied as she spotted Elliot walking back towards the car. "We'll be back at the station in a few." She ended the call and waited for Elliot to open the driver's side door. Her heart and mind began to race. Having a witness and a suspect was going to complicate things a little, but she'd make it work. Somehow. "Munch just called. We have a lead. A witness saw someone and is with the sketch artist now."

"Let's get going then."

* * *

A chill ran down her spine as she stared at the suspect sketch sitting in front of her. It was like she was back in the vision with his red eyes and his smile staring right back at her. Even though it was just a pencil drawing, Olivia felt the intensity of his eyes staring back at her. The sketch proved what she saw the night before wasn't an imagination. He was real and not something her mind made up. He was real and he knew who she was.

"We don't have a name yet," Fin said. "We sent flyers out to the other precincts. Someone's gotta recognize this guy."

"Well, until we have a name, we're still dead in the water on this case," Cragen sighed. "Send that to Sarah's family and Elise's workplace. Maybe someone there will know who he is."

"Already sent," Munch said.

"Good," Cragen said with a nod before turning to Olivia and Elliot. "You two, I needed your DD5s for the Battery Park flasher yesterday. Get to it. And you two." He added, turning back to Munch and Fin. "I need you to follow up with the witnesses from the Hanes case."

"On it, Cap," Fin said, grabbing his coat.

Olivia watched them leave and the captain go back to his office before pulling out the files she and Elliot were supposed to finish. Everyone was going to be looking for the vampire now so she'd have to deal with it quickly. She glanced over at Elliot and saw he was focused on his paperwork. Taking advantage of her partner's lack of attention, she turned on her computer and went to the search engine on her browser.

Track 61 was a track below the Waldorf Astoria. It was used to ferry government officials and other high-class people to the hotel. It was mostly used for storage now and trains didn't use the tracks. It was the perfect place for someone to hideout. Olivia found several videos of urban explorers making their way into the tunnel and made mental notes of how they got in.

Olivia knew she needed to end it once and for all before anyone else got killed. It was too late in the day to call Dana for back up. She'd never get there in time, and Olivia didn't get the impression that the patrons at the Magician's Hand would be of any help. She was going to do this on her own and she had no idea how she was going to make it work. Figuring things out seemed to be a talent of hers.

Her stomach churned as she glanced over to Elliot who was still diligently working on his DD5s. It was killing her knowing she'd be doing it all behind his back; that she'd have to play stupid until the case was closed. She never had to lie so hard about so much before. It was easy to lie about what she was, but now that that aspect of her life was spilling over into her work, it was getting harder and harder. She felt disgusted with herself, but now wasn't the time to drag Elliot into everything.

"Hey, I'm not feeling good. Can you tell Cragen I'm taking the rest of the day?" She asked, standing and straightening the papers and files on her desk.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked, his face full of concern as he looked up at her.

"Stomach's bothering me. That leftover Chinese food must have been off. Just let him know I'll be back in the morning."

"Sure. You finish your stuff?"

"No. Can't concentrate."

"Give it here, I'll finish it and turn it in for you."

"Thanks, El," Olivia replied, giving him a tight-lipped smile before closing out of the web browser, grabbing her bag, and handing the paperwork to Elliot. "See you tomorrow." She pulled on her coat, shouldered her bag, and prayed to whatever god that existed that she would see him tomorrow and wasn't about to get herself killed.

On her way to her apartment, she sent Dana a text giving the other Enchanter all the details of the last few days. She hoped Dana would have ideas or suggestions on how to deal with the vampire. When Olivia walked through the door of her apartment, her phone vibrated and she saw Dana's response.

_Don't do anything stupid. I can be there in a couple days to help._

Olivia sighed. She couldn't wait a couple more days. A couple more days meant the possibility of more victims or the vampire getting away. If he left the city, there would be no way to follow him. A tracking spell only had so much range, and he'd always be two steps ahead of her even if she could track him down after that.

She was terrified. After all the years she spent chasing down armed perps, she never felt as scared as she did then. She relied on her skills and training as a cop to protect her, but her skills as an Enchanter were something to laugh at. She silently cursed her mother for not teaching her. Olivia knew she should wait for Dana, knew she should tell Elliot, but her instinct was telling her to end it now.

Grabbing the journals from her bedroom, she began to pour over them once more, looking for anything that might help her. She came across a passage that said certain crystals could help enhance her power. One of the stones was one she had and used in the tracking spell the night before. She picked up the amethyst and looked it over. She could feel soothing energy came from the purple-hued stone. She pocketed it and went back to reading.

When she could find no other helpful information, she closed the journal in her hands and sighed. She'd just have to hope for the best now. As she stood, she touched the pocket that housed the amethyst crystal and prayed it gave it all the enhancement she'd need. She gathered up the several journals that laid on her coffee table and returned them to her bedroom before grabbing a flashlight, her service weapon, and her off duty weapon.

Neither gun would help her against the vampire. At the very most, they'd injure him enough to slow him down. Bullets wouldn't kill him though. She'd need her fire for that. The firearms were habit and a comfort though. As she tucked the off duty revolver into her ankle holster, she thought about Elliot and had to resist the urge to call him.

_If I make it out alive, I'll tell him everything_ , she promised herself.


	7. Chapter 7

The old subway tunnel was dark and cold as she carefully moved through it with her gun and flashlight in hand. She could hear every drop of water, every scuttle of the mice and rats, and the sound of subways running in distant tunnels. The light from the flashlight lit up a pathway in front of her and her eyes kept focusing on what was ahead. Her hands trembled slightly as her feet carried her further and further into the tunnel. Ahead of her was the alcove she saw from her vision. It was dark and there were no signs of life. She looked around before stepping into the alcove and into the room.

The room was even colder than the tunnel. The stone and brick walls seemed to trap the temperature inside. A sickening sweet smell hung in the air and made her feel almost queasy. There was an old mattress on the floor with relatively clean looking sheets on it. The tv she saw in the vision was sitting on an upside-down five-gallon bucket and was currently off. Olivia found a light switch and flicked it, but no light came. When she looked up at the light fixture, she saw there was no lightbulb. Instead, there were pillar candles all around the room and a backpack sitting next to the bed.

He wasn't there and she wasn't sure when or if he'd return, but Olivia seized the moment and began looking through the backpack. It held a couple of changes of clothes and three IV bags of blood. There was no wallet and nothing that gave her any clue of what the vampire's name was. There was nothing that indicated where he went either. If Olivia had to guess, he was probably hunting for another victim. She stuffed everything back into the backpack and looked around, looking for any clues.

The soft sound of footsteps from down the tunnel made her perk up. She became still and listened as they got closer and closer. Turning off the flashlight, she backed against a wall and pointed her gun at the entrance. The footsteps stopped and she could hear someone breathing, as though they were just running.

"Liv, you in there?" Elliot's voice whispered.

Olivia lowered her gun and turned the flashlight back on. "Jesus Christ, Elliot, you scared me," she said as she slowly exited the room to find Elliot catching his breath. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"I could ask you the same," Elliot said. "I was coming by your place to see how you were feeling and if you wanted to get dinner. I saw you leaving. You looked nervous, so I followed you. I lost you when you got into the tunnel. Had to jog to keep up. Liv, what's going on?"

Olivia sighed. She knew she wouldn't be able to cover this up. He caught her and there was no wiggling out of it. She'd have to tell him the truth, all of it. "I can explain, but not here. Let's go back to my place."

"Sure," Elliot said, gesturing for her to lead the way. "You're going to tell me everything, right? Because I have a feeling whatever this is, is a lot."

"Yea, I promise," Olivia said as she began to lead the way back up the tunnel. Something made her stop in her tracks though. It was too quiet. The sound of the mice and rats was gone. It was unnatural.

"What is it?" Elliot asked, stopping next to her.

She didn't answer but kept focusing on the sound, or lack thereof, around them. After a moment, she heard it. Someone was approaching them and the same sickening sweet smell she encountered in the room, filled the air around her. She didn't have to see him to know who it was.

"Well, well, well, Olivia, it looks like you found me," the smooth voice echoed through the tunnel. "And you brought a friend." He appeared in the beam of her flashlight, grinning as he approached. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. I didn't think you'd bring back up though."

"NYPD, stop," Elliot demanded, his gun now trained on the vampire.

"So rude," the vampire said, staring at Elliot. "I'll deal with you later."

As his eyes flicked back to Olivia, she felt her body lurch forward slightly. She looked at Elliot to find him completely motionless. His eyes were glassy as they stared at the vampire and no breath came from his nose or mouth. "Elliot?" She asked softly. When he didn't answer, she gently touched him to try to get his attention. He didn't turn to her. He remained motionless. "Elliot?" She felt panic rush her body and her head whipped around to the vampire. "What did you do to him?" She hissed.

"Relax," the vampire rolled his eyes. "Loverboy is fine. Have you never experienced time manipulation before?"

"W-what?"

"I stopped time, darling," the vampire grinned, his fangs glistening in the light coming from the flashlight. "It's a little talent of mine. Unfortunately, it only affects the humans and their world. Doesn't affect us magical beings. Pity."

"That's how you're been doing the rape and murders in public areas," Olivia realized, holstering her gun. It was going to be of no use to her against him and she was going to need her hands free. "You stop time."

"Bingo," he replied. "Getting straight to the point, I see. Didn't even ask for my name. It's Nathan, by the way. Nathan Ashby."

"I don't care," Olivia said. "You raped and murdered those girls. Why?"

"Why? Why not? I was feeling a little lonely and a little hungry. I assume you saw my blood stash. That's only for emergencies. Don't really need it here in the city. There are so many delicious ones here." He sniffed the air and sighed happily. "Enchanter blood is especially intoxicating. It's been about a hundred years since I last had Enchanter blood. Why don't you give me a little taste?"

"That's not going to happen," Olivia said as she conjured a large flame in her free hand. The flame lit the section of the tunnel with a warm glow and chased away the cold. "If you were any other perp, I'd arrest you and throw you in jail so you can rot there for the rest of your life. You're not like other perps though."

"No, I'm not," Nathan replied, looking amused. "Is this where you tell me you have to kill me? I've heard that line before and I'm still here."

"Not for much longer."

"Is that what you think? You're going to risk exposure with your...friend here." He looked to Elliot and walked over to him, circling him like a hungry animal. "How can such an ordinary human male infatuate you so much? They're so boring. His blood doesn't even smell good. He's got that Catholic stink on him." Nathan rolled his eyes and crinkled his his nose. "You can really do much better than a boring human."

"He's my friend and partner, and if you so much as touch him I will-."

"Tsk, tsk, Olivia," Nathan interrupted, stepping away from Elliot. "We both know that's a lie. I can feel your feelings for him. You're really bad at psychic blocks."

"So I've been told," she muttered, keeping close to Elliot.

"Still. Would be a shame if he got hurt wouldn't it? Or even killed because you think you can take down a 300 year old vampire by yourself. Or even turned. Always wanted to have a fledgling of my own." He smirked. "We could work this all out though. Give me a little taste of your blood and I'll be on my way."

"I don't think so."

"Have it your way then." He lunged at Elliot, but Olivia was ready.

She swept her arm out in front of her, knocking him backward with a blast of air. He growled, his intense red eyes focused on her as he got to his feet and jumped at her. Olivia dropped her flashlight with a clatter and threw out her hands. A wall of fire separated Nathan from her and Elliot.

Suddenly there was a loud gunshot that echoed down the tunnel. Olivia glanced over to see Elliot staring at the wall of fire in front of him, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. She realized the time freeze had lifted. When she knocked Nathan off his feet it must have broken his focus and made time return to normal.

"This isn't over," he said. "I'll find you and your loverboy here and we'll end this once and for all."

She watched him take off down the tunnel at an inhumane speed. When she was sure Nathan was gone, she dismissed the fire, and the darkness returned to the tunnel. Olivia picked up the flashlight and turned to Elliot.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"What the hell was that, Liv? How did you do that? What's wrong with your eyes?" He asked rapidly as he stared at her in disbelief.

"I can explain," she said slowly and calmly.

"I need to get out of here," he muttered before he began walking. Olivia followed after him, ready to ward off Nathan if he decided to come back.

"El, let me explain," she said once they made it to the entrance they came through.

"I don't know what the fuck just happened," he said, avoiding her gaze. "This has to be some weird nightmare. None of what I just saw was real. I'm going home and going to bed."

"El-"

"Olivia, I can't do this right now…" He cut her off and climbed out of the manhole. "Let's just both get home and get some sleep."

He walked her back to her apartment in silence. When they were outside her building, he bid her good night before going to his car parked down the street. There were no more promises to talk later. No "blink your lights when you get in." Nothing. This was what Olivia feared. He must have thought she was a freak.

She knew she couldn't focus on her feelings for too long. Nathan made a promise to come after them, and she had to prepare for that. Despite what Elliot might think of her, she still had deep feelings for him and refused to see him get hurt because of her.

When she got into her apartment, she made sure she was alone before locking her door. A locked wooden door wasn't going to stop a vampire from entering her home, so she made a mental note to ask around about protection spells. Once she turned out the lights and lit a couple of candles in her bedroom, she collapsed into bed and allowed herself to feel.

She let the pain of Elliot's response and refusal to talk about what just happened to consume her. The tears slipped from her eyes as she laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He thought she was a freak. He'd hate her for keeping this from him for so long. He'd want a new partner he could trust. He'd want a new partner that was normal. He'd never feel the same about her that she did about him.

Olivia wondered if things would have gone smoother if Elliot had known about her from the start; if she never kept what she was a secret from him. He would have understood why she needed to go after Nathan. He would have been on board and had her back all the way.

She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. She would explain everything to him. There'd be no more secrets. She had to believe Elliot wouldn't turn his back on her for what she was. Olivia had to believe that he was still going to be her partner "for better or worse."

And this whole situation was definitely in the worse category.


	8. Chapter 8

When she woke that next morning, she half expected to see a missed call or a text from Elliot.

There was nothing.

She tried to rationalize the lack of communication. She'd see him at work after all. They could talk then. Maybe he went home and went right to bed and didn't stay up half the night thinking things over like she had. It wasn't automatically a bad thing to not have a text or a call from him.

Right?

When she got to work that morning, Elliot wasn't there. Olivia checked her watch, saw she was early, and decided to try to make the best of the situation. She turned on her computer and began searching for records of Nathan Ashby. It was a long shot, searching for the records of a 300-year-old vampire, but maybe something would come up. When it didn't, she made herself some coffee and began going through her morning reports while she waited for Elliot.

Elliot finally arrived ten minutes late. He looked exhausted, and Olivia knew he didn't sleep a wink. He muttered a good morning to her before getting himself come coffee and avoiding her gaze. When she opened her mouth to speak, he got up and headed in the direction of the restrooms. Olivia sighed and buried her face in her hands. She didn't know how she was going to make things right this time.

"You okay, Liv?" Fin asked.

"Yea, yea I'm fine," Olivia said, looking over to him and Munch.

"You and Elliot get into it again?" Munch asked with a slightly amused look. "Lover's quarrel?"

"Yea, something like that," she muttered, turning back to her paperwork.

She could hear her fellow two detectives whispering to one another before Cragen sent them both off on an assignment. Olivia knew she shouldn't allow this to spill over into the rest of the squad. She'd find a way to tell them all in her own time, but for now, she needed to explain things to Elliot and find Nathan before he could do any more damage, or worse, kill them.

A few minutes after Fin and Munch left, Elliot still hadn't returned from the bathroom. Olivia pushed herself up from her chair and walked down the hall. She tapped on the door of the men's restroom and waited for any sort of answer. "Elliot, I know you're in here," she said through the door. She paused, and when no noise came from the other side of the door, she pushed the door open and poked her head inside.

Elliot was leaning against one of the sinks, his arms crossed, and his eyes on the floor. He didn't look up when she stepped into the restroom. The smell of the restroom hit her and her nose scrunched and her lips pursed as she made her way over to Elliot.

"You're not supposed to be in here," Elliot said, his eyes still on the floor.

"Yea, is that why you're hiding in here?" Olivia countered.

He grunted and Olivia saw his arms tighten against his chest.

"Elliot, we need to talk about last night," she said after a moment. "I can explain everything."

"Listen, I don't know what I saw last night," Elliot responded, finally looking up at her. "I keep trying to come up with an explanation; keep trying to rationalize why you were keeping everything from me. We tell each other everything. I thought we were partners? I thought we were friends?"

"We are," Olivia said. She could feel her heartbreaking more and more. She never wanted him to question their relationship, their bond, but there he stood questioning everything. "And I'm so sorry I didn't explain things sooner, but I want to explain it now. I'm not asking you to believe me or forgive me or anything like that. Just please give me a chance to explain." She held her breath as she watched him take in her words. His arms loosened and fell at his side as he turned around and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Blue eyes met her brown ones as he let out a sigh.

"Okay," he said. "Tonight. I'll come over after work."

"Thank you," Olivia replied softly.

"Let's just get through the day in the meantime," he added before brushing past her and out of the restroom.

The day dragged.

She spent the majority of the day doing paperwork, following up on possible leads, and making phone call after phone call. It was all pointless, and Olivia got the feeling that Elliot realized that now as well. There were a number of times he looked up from a report with curiosity etched onto his face, but then averted his eyes once more. She wished she knew what he was thinking, but clairvoyance wasn't her forte.

When Cragen dismissed them for the day, Elliot told her he'd be at her place in an hour. On her way home, she stopped and got a pizza and a six-pack as a gesture of goodwill. Food and beer always seemed to help, and if nothing else, it gave them an excuse to not sit in total silence.

She paced her living room once she was home. The past twenty-four hours replayed over in her mind. She hoped Elliot would accept what she was, and she hoped he'd have her back while she went after Nathan. It was stupid to think she should do it all by herself. It was clear to her now that she'd need Elliot by her side and she needed to keep him from harm.

A knock at the door caused her to stop wearing down her carpet. She checked her watch before walking over to the door and looking at the peephole. Elliot was standing on the other side of the door, looking up and down the hall as he waited for her to let him in. Olivia let out a breath and opened the door.

"Hey, come in," she said, standing aside to allow him to enter.

She watched as he hesitated for a second before stepping into her apartment. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the empty hook of the coat rack before heading into the living room.

"You hungry?" Olivia asked.

"I could eat," he answered.

Olivia divided up the pizza and put a couple of slices on each plate. She grabbed some beers out of the fridge and walked into the living room to join him.

"Thanks," Elliot said as he took the plate and bottle she handed him.

They ate in silence. It felt so foreign to Olivia. Their meals together consisted of exchange stories, telling jokes, and taking the piss out of each other. The occasional joking flirt was even exchanged now and again. Their current meal was the complete opposite. They were both lost in their own thoughts, and Olivia's nerves were slowly pushing her towards the edge. She just needed to know if Elliot was going to accept her and what she was or not. She needed the band-aid ripped off.

"So," Olivia said slowly, pushing her plate onto the coffee table and staring at her hands in her lap. She glanced up at him and watched him take a long drink from the amber bottle. "I guess I should start from the beginning...but do you have any questions before I start?"

"I think the beginning is a good place," he said.

"Right," Olivia said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "The beginning...well, I am what is called an Enchanter. It's kind of like being a witch, I guess. My mother was one as well, and her mother, and her mother before that and so on and so forth. I've always known what we were. Well, not by the name Enchanter. My mom called me a freak, but that's beside the point. I always knew we had magic.

My mother was very jaded when it came to our gifts. When she was raped she froze and wasn't able to use her abilities to save herself. She never saw the point of having powers after that and didn't really teach me how to use mine. She taught me enough to not let my emotions control them so if I threw a tantrum as a child I didn't catch the house on fire. But beyond that, she gave me a bunch of journals that have been passed down through my family." She paused and reached behind her on the end table where one of the journals was sitting. She grabbed it and handed it to Elliot. He carefully opened it and began flipping through the pages. His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what was written before him.

"They contain just about everything about my family's abilities," Olivia continued. "How to control them, how to use them, and other information. But the journals aren't just about my family and our abilities as Enchanters. They're diaries of the women who came before me and their dealings in the supernatural community. It's not just us Enchanters. There are Mages, which are the male version of Enchanters. There are Vampires, Merpeople, Werecreatures, Fairies, and just about any other creature and magical being you've heard about in fairy tales.

"And that brings us to the present and our current case. The thing that killed Sarah and Elise...His name is Nathan Ashby, and he is a vampire. They're similar to the ones you know from pop culture. They need blood to survive, but they can go out into the sunlight as long as they keep their eyes covered, and they can't be killed via a stake to the heart. Normally they don't bother anyone. Sires keep their fledglings and clans in check, but rogue vampires, ones that become too strong for their sires, are dangerous. As soon as I realized what we were dealing with, I wanted to take care of it myself so no one would find out about me or what Nathan was." She fell silent, thinking about everything she said and hoping she didn't leave anything out. She glanced at him and watched him take in the information dump she thrust upon him. "It was a mistake to keep this all from you."

"So…" he began slowly after a moment of silent thought. "Monsters and magic are real?"

"Basically," she responded.

"And you're...not a witch, but an Enchanter, which is kind of like a witch?"

Olivia nodded.

"And you've kept it a secret."

She nodded again. "It's sort of an unspoken rule to not tell anyone outside the supernatural community about our existence. Mostly because we don't want to be hunted down and studied like lab experiments, treated like we're abominations, or killed. It doesn't really apply if you trust someone with your life though…"

"I understand that," he paused for a second before continuing. "So last night...the fire...that was you?"

Olivia nodded once more. "Nathan was going to attack you. I had to stop him…"

He let out a heavy sigh. "What happened last night, Liv?"

The return of her nickname calmed her and ease her mind. Hope began to bubble in her as she began to explain the previous night to him. "After we ran into Ashby, he froze time. I didn't know vampires could have abilities like that. That's how he's been doing the attacks and not getting caught. I wasn't frozen because I'm an Enchanter and it doesn't affect other magical beings."

He blinked and stared at her as though she had three heads. "He stopped time? How does that even work?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Like I said, I didn't think it was possible, but I barely know anything about the supernatural world."

"What happened after I was frozen?"

"We talked, or rather, he goaded me. Said he'd leave the city if I let him drink from me," she answered, shaking her head. "That's when he came after you. I was able to knock him back, and when I did that, it broke his hold over the time freeze just in time for you to see me conjure a wall of fire."

She watched the gears turning in his mind as he processed everything she told him. His brow furrowed again and he looked up from his hands to her face. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Honestly, it was mostly out of fear. I wasn't sure how you'd react. I wasn't sure if you would think I was some sort of freak or if you'd be afraid of what I was. I wanted to tell you. You're my best friend, El, I didn't want to lose you. I know now that lying about everything and keeping it wasn't the right thing to do."

His face softened and he rested a hand on her knee, squeezing it gently. "You said the other night that there are things in this world that can't be explained and that we can't understand. This is one of those things. I can't pretend to understand everything you've told me. I could ask a million questions and I don't think I'll ever get it. But Liv...the one thing I do understand is that you're my partner, my best friend, my…" He trailed off for a moment before continuing. "Point is, you're not going to lose me and I'd never think you're a freak."

Olivia felt tears threatening to spill and blinked them away rapidly. Everything she feared since she got close to Elliot faded. He accepted her for what she was and didn't think she was a freak. For the first time in years, she felt like a normal person all thanks to his acceptance. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered as she felt his arms wrap around her middle. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's fine. You told me now, didn't you? No more secrets between us, Liv. Okay?"

"No more secrets," she confirmed as she pulled away from him, missing the feeling of his body against hers. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"About a billion," Elliot answered with a chuckle, pausing for a moment to think. "Your eyes...they changed color last night. They were purple."

"They do that when I use my magic," Olivia answered. "It's just a trait of magic users. Mages' eyes turn gold. Druids turn blue. Fae turns green."

"Right…" he said, slowly as he processed what she just told him. "And your powers, what can you do?"

"I can conjure and control the elements. Fire, water, earth, air," Olivia answered. "That's all I know how to do. Each Enchanter has their own specialty, but we can learn other abilities. I just never really tried...Well, I tried spellwork the other night. That's how I knew where to find Ashby…"

"I'm confused," Elliot blinked.

"About what?"

"Everything you just said. Elements...spellwork…"

"Maybe I should show you," Olivia said. She thought about something simple she could show him and held out her hands to him. "Take my hands." When he eyed her skeptically, she sighed. "Trust me."

"Okay," Elliot replied, taking her hands.

Olivia began to focus on the air around them, her eyes never leaving Elliot's. A light breeze floated through the apartment and whipped around them. When they began to lift ever so slightly off the couch, Elliot's eyes grew large and his grip on Olivia's hands tightened.

"We're...we're floating," he said, looking down at the couch, which was at least two feet below their bodies. "How are you doing that?"

"With the air and with magic," Olivia answered. "Do you want to see more?"

"Yes."


	9. Chapter 9

Elliot ended up passing out on her couch just after midnight. The pair of them had spent the evening talking everything over, and Olivia answered any and all questions he threw at her. She also showed him more of her abilities until he got the gist of what she could do. She was surprised by how easily Elliot seemed to be taking everything in. As she laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, she smiled. She still couldn't believe Elliot knew and accepted everything. A great weight had been lifted from her now that there was one less person to hide from.

Her phone vibrated on her nightstand and she reached over to grab it. She saw she had a new text from Dana.

_Got held up in DC. Can be there tomorrow if you're still going after the vamp._

Olivia frowned. In all the excitement, she forgot about Dana, and she forgot to tell Elliot about her.

_Still going after him. Going to need help._

Olivia sent the text and closed the phone, dropping it beside her on the bed. Elliot insisted on going after Nathan with her, even though there was nothing he could do to really help eliminate the vampire. She was thankful for the help, but Olivia didn't want to put Elliot in any more danger than he already was.

"He's already coming after us," he told her. "I'm not letting you do this alone."

It was seven in the morning when she heard movement coming from the kitchen. She slipped out of bed and softly padded out of her bedroom to find Elliot rooting through her kitchen cabinets.

"You have no food in the place," he said. "I was going to make breakfast, but all I found was bread and peanut butter. So toast it is. Is not eating another Enchanter thing?"

Olivia laughed. "No," she said. "It's more like being married to my job and never being home. Toast is fine. Let me get dressed. Do you want to swing by your place to get some fresh clothes?"

"Nah, I have some in my locker at the precinct," Elliot said. "Speaking of work…"

"Yes?"

"No one else knows then?"

"The squad? No."

"And you've never used your abilities at work? To help with cases?"

Olivia shook her head as she thought back to her rookie days. Her face dropped and she sighed, knowing he was going to ask what happened. "I used them once when I left the academy and was working at the five-five. After that, I swore I wouldn't use them to help with work again."

"What happened?"

"I was on the beat, and my partner and I were chasing a suspect who just robbed a bodega. I thought maybe if I collared him it would help me make detective. I only meant to trip him so I could catch up. I was going to use my power to raise the ground under the sidewalk enough just so he'd trip over the cement slab. In all the urgency, I wasn't focusing, and when the suspect turned to run across the street at the last second, I accidentally created a pothole in the street and he tripped and fell into an oncoming cab. He died from his injuries," she answered, closing her eyes as she replayed that night back in her head. It was the first time she had seen that much blood. "I didn't mean to get him killed. I only wanted him to trip so I could collar him. After that...I took it as a sign I wasn't supposed to use my powers to help me work, and I promised myself I wouldn't do it again...until now for obvious reasons..."

"Liv...there was no way you could have known he was going to change directions like that. It was an accident," Elliot said, rounding the counter to place a hand over hers.

"I know, but it's still my fault he's dead. He was only nineteen years old. It might have been an accident, but I still ended his life using my abilities." She glanced down at his hand on her own hand and shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. I kinda have to throw my no magic rule out of the window on this one."

"But you don't have to go it alone anymore," he said, removing his hand from hers and turning back to the loaf of bread and peanut butter sitting abandoned on the counter. "Speaking of work...how are we going to play this? We can't really arrest a vampire and throw him in a cell, can we?"

"No," Olivia said. "We have to kill him. It's not the justice I want to give Sarah or Elise, but keeping Nathan Ashby from hurting and killing anyone else is the only justice I can give them at this point."

"So...we're going to have to play stupid until he's dead? And then what? The case officially goes cold and Sarah's family and Elise's friends never get answers?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet," Olivia sighed. "My best idea was to kill him and make it look like an accident."

"Won't they figure out he's not human though? I have no problems with that, but it's your world that would be exposed."

"Yea…" Olivia sighed and trailed off. She was glad to have Elliot's thoughts. They were pointing out how unprepared she actually was. She didn't know what she was doing. This was all out of her league. Not for the first time, Olivia wished she was just a normal human detective.

"He has to be killed," Elliot said after a moment of thinking. "And the case will have to go cold. I don't like it, and I know you don't either, but we'll know Elise and Sarah got justice. That's all that matters in the end. They will get their justice and Ashby will never hurt anyone again. We're going to figure this out and get him."

They didn't talk much on their way to the precinct. Olivia suspected Elliot was still processing everything and trying to think of things to ask her. She could see it in the way he'd glance at her as he drove. Even though he said he didn't think she was a freak, she couldn't help but wonder if deep down that's how he felt. She just turned his world and everything he thought he knew and believed upside down.

When he parked the car in the garage, Elliot turned the engine off and turned to her. "How are we going to find him before he finds us?" He asked.

"I guess the same way I found him the first time," Olivia said. "The only problem with that is when I track him, he can see me. He knew I was coming to look for him that night in the tunnels."

"So he'll know you're looking for him if you do that tracking thing."

Olivia nodded. "I do have another idea."

"That is."

"I lure him out of the city."

"You're not going by yourself. I'm coming with you."

"I won't be by myself. Dana is coming."

"Wait a second. Dana? As in Dana Lewis from the FBI?"

She nodded again and quickly realized she forgot to mention Dana to begin with. "Yea, I forgot to mention..she's an Enchanter too. She's clairvoyant. That's her specialty."

He looked dumbfounded. "Like, what? Mind reading?"

"Yea."

"So she knew about all this?"

"Yes. She said she'd help, but she can't really get away from her job. She's coming tomorrow."

"Okay, so you and Dana the mind reader are going to lure this vampire out of the city and kill it. How exactly is Dana going to help?"

"She's taken down a vampire before. She knows what she's doing."

"I'm still coming with you."

"Elliot-"

"No, Olivia, you're not doing this by yourself, and don't say it's to protect me or some bullshit like that. I know this is going to be dangerous. I know what I'm signing up for, and we both know fighting about this is pointless. When are you going to realize you don't have to do this on your own anymore?"

She sighed and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. "I just...I just don't want you to get hurt," she replied softly. "He knows we're...close. I don't want him to use you."

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes boring into her own before opening his mouth to speak again. "I'd like to see him try and use me." He smirked at her and squeezed her arm. "It's going to be fine, Liv."

"I hope so," she replied softly, her eyes flicking to the hand on her arm and back up to his eyes. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she stared at him. His eyes never left hers, and maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she saw his eyes glance down to her lips for the briefest moment. It was as though she were in a trance; as though he weaved his own magic and put her under his spell. She began to lean forward, but the ringing of his cell phone snapped them both out of the spell.

"Stabler," Elliot answered after digging the phone out of his pocket.

Olivia could hear what sounded like the captain's voice over the phone. She watched Elliot nod his head and look over to her.

"Yea I picked her up on my way in. We just got here so we'll be inside in a couple of minutes." He closed the phone and tucked it back into his pocket. "Cragen said a call came in this morning. A patrolman spotted our suspect in Hell's Kitchen. When the officer pursued Ashby, Ashby 'parkoured' up the side of a building."

"Parkoured?"

"That's what the captain said. So do vampires parkour?"

"They have much more speed and strength than humans, but leaping buildings might be another ability of his."

"Great, so we have a time-stopping, parkouring vampire running around the city. I hope this is as weird as the day gets."

"You and me both."

The day was spent following leads and visiting the site where the patrol officer spotted Nathan and watched the vampire scale a building. There were no other witnesses, thankfully, and the patrolman was not convinced he was seeing things.

"I've been awake for the last twenty-four hours. I'm running off coffee and fast food," he told Elliot and Olivia when they took his statement.

When they were finally dismissed by Cragen near ten that night, they were both exhausted. All Olivia wanted to do was take a bath and crawl into bed, but she knew that wouldn't be her evening. She'd be pouring over the family journals until she became too tired to keep her eyes open. As Elliot drove her home, she made a note to stop by the Magician's Hand in the morning to possibly pick up some supplies and ask about any useful spells she could use.

Elliot pulled the car up to the front of her building, and as Olivia began to open the door, he grabbed her arm. She turned and looked at him to see concern filling his blue eyes.

"Blink your lights," he said.

She couldn't help but smile at the simple request. It was one he made to her years before and held so much meaning. "I will," she promised. "Dana's going to be here at noon tomorrow. We're going to go to lunch and solidify a plan."

Elliot nodded. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Let me know when you get home," Olivia requested.

"I will," he promised.

She opened the car door and made her way into the building. After a short ride up the elevator, she was standing outside her apartment and slipping the key into the lock. As she opened the door, she could smell blood and the familiar sweet smell that hung around Nathan. She knew something was wrong.

Her hand went instinctively to the Glock on her hip as she flipped the light on. Blood covered the floor and in the center of her living room was the body of a blonde woman she recognized. It was Jessica, the woman who they gave a ride to the courthouse days before. On the wall behind the body, words were written in cursive in blood.

_I found you, Olivia. And dear Elliot too._

A photo of the Stabler children was tapped right underneath the message.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short little chapter for you. Updates after this week will be a bit slower for a couple of weeks, so I apologize in advance. I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think!

Her apartment turned into a crime scene. She was allowed to grab a couple changes of clothes and some personal items before she was barred from her apartment as CSU combed through the scene. With a duffle bag of clothes and journals, she sat helplessly at her desk as Elliot called Kathy to tell her to take the kids to her mother's.

"You two are off this case," Cragen said as he came out of his office moments later. "And I'm putting a protective detail on you as well."

"Captain-" Elliot began.

"We don't need protection. We need to find this son of a bitch," Olivia interjected.

"Even if that protective detail is me?"

Dana Lewis's voice floated into the bullpen as she walked through the doors. Olivia could pick up the subtle perfumey smell of magic that floated around the other woman as she approached her. Dana gave Olivia the smallest of winks before greeting the captain with a handshake.

"Agent Lewis was kind enough to offer assistance when she heard about what happened," Don explained. "I know you both can take care of yourselves, but it's not going to hurt to have an extra pair of eyes on you. Now, make sure Munch and Fin get all your files. They're taking over the case. Olivia you'll need to give a statement before you leave."

"And where am I supposed to go?" Olivia asked. "My apartment is a crime scene."

"The department is covering a hotel room for you until your apartment is cleared and cleaned," Cragen said. "And you too, Elliot. There's a protection detail on your family already so you and Olivia will be bunking together until we can figure this out."

Elliot nodded his thanks and put up no argument.

"Right. I don't want to see you two here after today," Cragen said before turning and heading back to his office.

Dana tilted her head slightly towards Elliot. "He know?"

Olivia nodded. "He knows."

"Good. You got a plan figured out?" Dana asked next. "Because this vampire seems to have an obsession with you."

"Lure him out of the city and kill him," Olivia said with a shrug. "It's the only thing we can do at this point. There's no reasoning with him. He's not going to stop until he's dead or gets bored and moves onto another city."

Dana nodded. "And he's not going to move on to another city until he gets what he wants here. Luring him away is going to be our only bet, so we better get a move on. We should stop by the club and pick up some supplies."

"Supplies?" Elliot asked. "What are we doing? Going camping?"

Dana gave him a look of slight annoyance. "And what if we do? You okay being shacked up in a tent with two beautiful and magical beings?"

"I-No-I mean-"

Dana smirked. "I'm messing with you, Stabler. But seriously, we probably will have to camp out if we want to do this away from anyone. So, we better get going."

"How are we going to explain not being at the hotel?" Elliot asked. "And what about my family?"

"It's already taken care of," Dana answered. "Your wife and kids are safe."

"Ex-wife."

"Apologies. Your ex and kids are safe," she corrected before leading the way out of the bullpen.

Olivia stared at Elliot in surprise. Ex-wife? He hadn't told her he signed the divorce papers.

"Later," he said, answering her unasked question before following after Dana

* * *

It took less than an hour to hand over everything they had on the case to Fin and Munch and for Olivia to give her statement to them. When she finished, she, Elliot, and Dana left the precinct together. Dana hadn't explained what she meant by everything was already taken care of, and by the time they were walking into the Magician's Hand, Olivia didn't think she was going to explain.

Walking into the magic shop during the day was a different experience. The store itself was whimsical and filled with supplies for stage magic, something Olivia hadn't noticed the last time she visited. Ralph sat behind the counter and gave Olivia a nod before waving them to the back. She saw him eyeing Elliot suspiciously but Olivia did her best to mentally convey to Ralph that Elliot wasn't a threat.

She followed after Dana and a few seconds later they were in the secret backroom bar. It was empty, save for Fin, who was sitting in the same corner the first time Olivia met him, and the barkeeper, Freya.

Dana went over to the bar and began exchanging words with Freya in hushed tone, leaving Olivia and Elliot standing there alone. Olivia nudged Elliot's arm and gestured for him to follow her before making her way over to Fin.

"It's nice to see you again," Olivia said when Fin looked up from his drink.

"Yea, I guess," Fin sighed. "You've been making waves in the city. Got me into trouble."

"What?"

"You are going after that vampire. It's not the norm. Everyone knows what you're doing."

"If everyone knows what she's doing, then why is she the only one doing this?" Elliot asked. "Why isn't anyone helping?"

"A human?" Fin questioned, looking from Elliot to Olivia. "Brave of you to bring him into this." He took a long drink from the glass pint in front of him before sighing. "No one wants to get involved. No one wants to get on the wrong side of a vampire, and there are only a few beings that can kill a vampire. Mages, Enchanters, and Werewolves. You need an army of Fae and Druids to kill a vampire and let's face it, they're a dying breed. So of the three I listed, you finding anyone to help kill a vampire is slim to start."

"What did you mean when you said I got you into trouble?" Olivia asked as she sat down. She hadn't noticed until then that he smelled different than the night she met him. She searched his face and saw a sadness in his eyes. "What happened?"

"My pack kicked me out," he answered. "That night we talked, I went back to my Alpha and suggested helping you. Questioned his authority. He didn't take kindly to that. Neither did his mate or the rest of the pack. They took a vote and exiled me."

"Fin, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

Fin shrugged. "It's not really your fault. It was my third strike. It wasn't the first time I questioned the Alpha's authority."

"So they kicked you out for wanting to help?" Elliot asked. The same confused look Olivia had become familiar with was etched onto Elliot's face once more.

"You're human, you wouldn't understand how these things work," Fin replied, rolling his eyes.

"Forgive me, but I'm trying."

"Olivia," Dana called from the bar, beckoning her over with a finger.

"I'll be right back. Could you two try to get along?" Olivia said looking from Fin to Elliot. She stood and looked over her shoulder at them one more time as she walked over to the bar. When she reached the bar, she found an array of herbs and crystals covering the wooden countertop. Freya grinned at her.

"I'm glad to see you here again, Olivia Benson," she said, her eyes turning a bright green. "And I apologize for my behavior the other night. I was rude."

"Don't listen to her," Dana rolled her eyes. "She's trying to get you to accept her apology so you'll be in her debt. Told you, the Fae are tricky."

"Don't be mean, Dana," Freya pouted. "I just wanted a favor."

"Which is?"

"I wanted some vampire blood before you killed it. It does wonders for my plants. Don't know why. If you could?"

"No way in hell," Dana replied. "You want it, you go after it yourself."

Freya rolled her eyes as they turned back to normal. "Fine, let my tulips die."

"We will," Dana responded dryly as Freya stalked off to the end of the bar to finish cleaning glasses. Dana turned her attention from the fairy to Olivia. "Anyway, I got us some necessary supplies."

"For spellwork?"

Dana nodded. "And brews. We can make some protection teas with some of these herbs, and I know enough spell magic to get us by. We need to be prepared."

"I thought you were just clairvoyant."

"Not just, but I can't reveal all my secrets, can I? Now, do you want to get your partner so we can get out of here?"

When Olivia turned to walk back to the table she left Elliot at, she found Fin and Elliot in what looked like a serious conversation. They both stopped talking when Olivia drew near, and she couldn't help but wonder who else was keeping secrets.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I hope you're all doing well. I want to thank everyone for their patience. I know it's been a bit since I last updated. I just wanted to make a little note on something I didn't catch until just recently. I've described Dana as clairvoyant this whole time when she's really clairaudience and claircognizance. I'm going to go back later and fix this in the past chapters, but I do apologize if anyone was maybe confused. I've been using the wrong word this whole time and my goblin brain never caught it until just recently.

"How does this work exactly?" Elliot asked as he picked up an amethyst crystal. Olivia watched as he turned the pointed stone over in his hand to examine it. He looked perplexed, and she knew he was questioning what power a rock could have.

"Shhh," Dana replied, gently slapping his hand and taking the crystal from him. "And don't touch anything. If this gets messed up, she could get stuck in the astral."

"I could what?" Olivia asked upon hearing Dana's statement. The other woman had said it so nonchalantly, but it still raised the alarm in Olivia. She blinked and replayed what the other woman just said over in her mind, trying to make sense of it. "I could get stuck in the where?"

"The astral. The plane of existence between us and the afterlife. This tracking spell is basically just astral projection. If the spell goes wrong, you could get stuck, and believe me, you don't want to get stuck in the astral," Dana answered with a shrug as though they were having a conversation about the weather. "I'd rather not have to make any bargains with any creatures to go retrieve you."

Her mouth went agape. "I wish someone would have told me this before I did this by myself the first time." A feeling of queasiness settled in Olivia's stomach as she thought it over. She didn't realize just how much of a risk she was taking with what she thought was a simple spell, and again, she felt like a complete idiot who shouldn't be a part of that world. Perhaps her mother had been right. She was a freak belonging to neither the human world or the magical one.

"You'll be fine. You did it once, didn't you? As long as Elliot keeps his hands to himself, you can do it again."

"I'm not touching anything," Elliot said, throwing his hands up in surrender and stepping away from the set up on the hotel room desk. "But he's going to see her if she does this again, right?"

"That's what we want," Dana said. "He can't hurt her. But creatures like vampires can see into the astral whenever they want."

"Can you?"

She shook her head. "That's something I haven't mastered yet."

He ran a hand down his face and sighed. "I'm going insane."

"Me too, trust me," Olivia muttered as she grabbed the lighter and carefully lit the cotton bag of herbs. "Here goes nothing." She set the lighter aside and closed her eyes, trying not to focus on the audience she had in the room with her. Knowing Elliot was behind her and watching her every move made her nervous, but she pushed it all aside and began to breathe deeply.

The familiar sensation of falling came back to her and flashes of the city flashed before her, but it was different that time. She noticed other beings moving around her. Most were human-looking, but there were werecreatures and creatures she never saw before.

She suddenly stopped and found herself outside a hotel room. The door was open and the inside of the room was dark. Only two thin lines of light showed between the cracks of the curtains. She stepped inside the room and noticed two women on the floor, blood seeping from wounds on their necks as their glassy eyes stared up at the ceiling in shock.

"I knew you'd be back."

Olivia turned to find Nathan on his side on one of the beds. He was dressed in a dark, slim-fitting suit, his tie loose around his neck, and not a drop of blood anywhere on his attire. He licked the blood from his lips and gave her an amused smirk. "Couldn't stay away? I thought I'd get to see you in your home, but I guess I missed you."

"I've been busy cleaning up the mess you keep leaving us," Olivia responded coolly. "And I see you're still leaving messes. So who were they?"

"Who cares," Nathan said, rolling his eyes. "But they were delicious. Their blood was so sweet. Not as sweet as yours might be though. Oh, Olivia, I just wish you'd give me a little taste, and then this can all be over. I bet your bones would sound so pretty as I snapped them."

"Well if you want me so badly you're just going to have to come find me then," Olivia said, planting the seed of their plan in Nathan's mind.

He grinned, his fangs gleaming in the dim room. "I do love a good hunt. It'll make the feeding so much better. I'll see you soon Olivia. I'm closer than you think." Then he shifted his eyes to the ceiling.

Olivia thought she was going to be sick. He was in the room below them right now. How did he know where they were supposed to be staying? She turned to leave the room and felt her body falling again before hitting a sudden stop.

Her eyes popped open and she was back in the hotel room with Elliot and Dana. Dana was sitting across from her at the table, waiting patiently for Olivia to speak. Elliot looked concerned and stopped his pacing as she came to.

"We need to leave now," Olivia said, pushing herself out of her seat. "He's here. In the room below us. He killed the two women staying there."

"You heard the lady, let's go," Dana said, grabbing the crystals from the table. "I'll call the bodies in while you two grab everything."

"Can't he just come up here and stop us?" Elliot asked as he grabbed a bag they brought into the room. They left most of their things in Elliot's jeep after they stopped by his place to grab supplies.

Olivia shook her head. Nathan wanted to work for his prize. He wanted the thrill of the chase. Cornering them in their hotel room wouldn't give him satisfaction. That's what he wanted, the satisfaction of drinking her blood and killing them all, or worse, turning them.

"He wants to hunt me," Olivia said. "He gets off on the thrill. He'll let us leave but then he'll follow."

"Which is what we want," Dana said as she dug her phone out of her pocket. "Now let's go."

After loading Elliot's jeep, they made their way out of the city. Olivia was looking over a paper map in the front seat as Dana and Elliot argued over the quickest way to get out of Manhattan.

"So how far are we going out?" Elliot asked as they crossed over the Hudson River.

"How far until we're away from society?" Olivia said. "We need to go somewhere where he can't hurt anyone else and where we won't be found." Her eyes scanned the map of New York and pointed to a spot labeled Big Indian Wilderness. "We could try to make it there. It's two, maybe three hours at most?"

Elliot glanced over at the map quickly before refocusing on the road. "We can make it there by nightfall. I hope you two are prepared for the cold."

"Well lucky for us, we have an Elementalist with us. I'm sure Olivia can get us a fire going in no time," Dana winked.

Elliot hummed in acknowledgment. "How long before he catches up with us?"

"Probably not long," Olivia answered.

"He might have a hard time finding us in the woods though," Dana chimed in. "The smells can confuse a vampire or a werebeing."

"Smells?" Elliot asked.

"Nature is magical. Magic gives off different smells. It's how we sense each other. That's why it's easier to find other magical beings in cities because there are no conflicting smells unless you're in a park or something.."

"And this will confuse Ashby?"

"A little. If he is that attracted to Olivia's blood, he'll be able to eventually find her."

"Yay me," Olivia sighed. "And once he does find us, we'll kill him."

Dana nodded. "We'll try at least."

There was that word again. Try. There was no guarantee they could kill Nathan. There was no guarantee they'd make it out of this alive. Olivia glanced at Elliot and felt guilty about not fulfilling the promise she made to herself. So much had happened and there had been no time to talk about feelings or the future. It all hung in the air like smoke in a room.

They stopped at a gas station that was next to a grocery store. While Elliot filled the jeep, Dana and Olivia went into the grocery store and grabbed some food for their, hopefully short, stay in the woods. They grabbed food that could be cooked over a fire or didn't need to be heated through. When they returned to Elliot with bags filled with mostly junk food, they found him talking on the phone with a hushed voice.

"Hey, they're coming back now," Elliot said. "I'll talk to you later." He closed the phone and slipped it into his pocket before helping Olivia with the grocery bags. "Find everything?"

"Who were you talking to?" Olivia asked.

"The kids, mostly Kathleen. Just updating them on what's going on and just checking in," Elliot said.

Dana tilted her head and pursed her lips. "And how are the little Stablers?"

"Fine," Elliot answered before quickly closing up the hatch of the jeep and returning to the driver's side door. "We ready?"

Olivia looked between him and Dana and knew immediately something was up. Elliot was lying about something, Dana knew what it was, and Olivia knew neither of them were going to tell her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you had/are having a lovely holiday season. I appreciate every single one of you, and I thank you for your kind reviews and giving this fic a chance. Here's an update for you all. Please let me know what you think!

"Fuck, it's dark out," Dana said as they made their way through the woods, following the light of Elliot's flashlight ahead of them. They arrived at the forest after another hour's drive and parked the Jeep off a dirt road they found on a county controlled back road. "All this pine is giving me a headache."

"It's fresh air, Dana. You've been breathing in city air for too long," Elliot said, amusement in his voice before stopping. "It looks like there's a clear spot up ahead. We can make camp there."

The forest was dense, and Olivia was confident they wouldn't be found by any random hikers or law enforcement. Besides the pine, she could smell the magic coming from the trees and plants all around them. It filled the air like a heavy perfume. Being surrounded by so much magic made her feel empowered. She felt like she could take on anything that came at them, and she desperately hoped that feeling would last.

Twenty minutes after leaving the Jeep, they finally stopped for the night. Elliot directed his light around the small, cleared area and nodded. "We'll be fine here. Liv, you and Dana get the tent set up, I'll round up some stuff to get a fire going." He dropped this backpack and the tent bag he had been carrying to start gathering twigs and leaf matter littered around the glade.

"We're not going to be here long enough to sleep," Dana pointed out. "He's going to be here in a couple of hours."

"Or he might not," Elliot said in a matter-of-fact tone. "There's a lot of people between us and the city he could feed off of. And if he's sadistic as I believe, he'll make us wait."

"He's got a point," Olivia said as she unzipped the tent bag and began pulling out poles and tarps. She grabbed her flashlight from her pocket and held it between her teeth as she tried to make heads or tails of the poles. "You know how to do this?" She asked, looking up at Dana.

Dana smirked and looked amused. "Come on, Benson, you never pitched a tent before?"

"No, actually," Olivia answered. "I grew up in the city. The closest thing I ever did to camping was sleeping overnight at a friend's youth group."

"Come on, I'll show you how to do it."

By the time Elliot had enough tinder and wood for a fire, Olivia and Dana managed to get the tent set up and put their sleeping bags inside.

"It's going to be a little cramped," Olivia said. "But at least it will keep us dry if it rains." She glanced at Elliot and the thought of sleeping up against him, feeling his body next to hers, made her face warm. "Want me to get that fire going?"

"Go for it," Elliot said, stepping back from the makeshift fire pit. "I think I forgot to bring my lighter anyway."

She knelt down on her knees in front of the pyramid of sticks. She placed her hands on either side of the structure. Olivia visualized hot orange flames in her mind's eye and felt the heat erupt from her hands. When she opened her eyes, a crackling fire was now burning happily. Her eyes found Elliot's staring down at her with a look of wonder. She'd never get over his look of surprise and awe when he witnessed her performing magic. Seeing his face light up in childlike glee filled her heart.

"I don't know about either of you, but I'm starving and prepackaged hotdogs sound delicious right now," Dana said, breaking the moment Olivia was sharing with Elliot. "And if you two are done ogling each other, we can eat."

Elliot shook his head and snorted. "We weren't ogling, but food sounds great. I'll get us some sticks to cook the hotdogs with."

* * *

The night grew darker, something Olivia didn't think was possible. It was like a thick veil that hung around the lit edges of their camp. She was never afraid of the dark before but knowing they were being hunted and the possibility of other creatures lurking in the night made her uneasy. It wasn't just the dark though. No noise besides the cracking fire could be heard. It was as if the forest knew of what was to come and decided to hide. She expected to hear the wind blowing through the trees, insect wings humming about, and animals scurrying over the brush. Instead, it was just her heartbeat and the fire. The smell and feeling of magic still lingered and it calmed her nerves. Small graces.

As she sat cross-legged on the ground, she laid a few more large twigs on the fire. Elliot and Dana had gone to bed almost an hour before, but Olivia couldn't sleep. She thought someone should keep watch, even if Dana set upwards around their camp to alert them if anything was near. There was too much on Olivia's mind to allow her to sleep, so staying awake to keep guard was the only thing she could do.

Her mind turned to Elliot asleep in the tent behind her. She wished he was safe at home in Queens with his children. She wished she hadn't brought him into any of this. Her partner was too protective of her, and Olivia knew it could kill him one day. She'd never live with herself if that happened. Olivia never wanted to be the reason Elliot put himself in danger, never wanted to be the reason his children were left fatherless. She didn't believe her life was worth that.

The soft sound of a zipper interrupted her spiral and out of the corner of her eye, she could see someone coming out of the tent. There was a soft thud on the ground next to her as Elliot sat down. "Can't sleep," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Dana's hogging the whole tent. Woman is dead to the world right now."

Olivia suppressed a laugh and tossed another twig onto the fire. "I can't sleep either. Too much going on in my head."

"Wanna talk about?"

"It's not really important," she sighed, lazily shrugging her shoulders. She stared into the fire and stretched her legs out in front of her to prevent them from falling asleep. She decided to take advantage of the precious time alone together and spoke. "So you signed the divorce papers? When did that happen?"

"Right before I followed you into the tunnels," Elliot answered. "Before I left for your place. It was...It was time."

She frowned. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. Kathy and I, we tried. We loved each other in the beginning, but we were never in love. We stayed together because we had no one else. It was convenient. We stayed together for the kids because we thought they should have both parents under one roof. We stayed together for all the wrong reasons." He paused and picked at a leaf on the ground in front of him. "Besides, things were changing and I couldn't ignore that anymore."

Her interest was piqued by his statement. She sat up a little straighter and cocked her head at him as she pondered what he meant. "What's changing?"

His blue eyes met her brown ones, and for a moment, Olivia thought she could hear his thoughts and feel what he was feeling. Her intuition screamed at her, telling her this was it. The look he was giving her was confirmation of her suspicions. "I think you know," he said in a low voice. His body twisted towards her as a hand rested on her neck and his lips landed on hers.

She froze as her mind tried to catch up and comprehend what was happening. His lips were on hers and they were softer than she thought they'd be. Her own lips parted in surprise, and the kiss deepened. When the shock wore off, she responded in kind and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer.

Olivia couldn't remember the last time she kissed someone the way she was kissing Elliot. Her kisses were usually sloppy, drunken, and lacking emotion. She never let herself get too attached to anyone out of fear they'd find out what she was. Anytime she thought she was getting close to someone, her mother's voice rang in her ears, drawing her back to reality and holding her firmly in place.

_No one will ever love you. You're a freak._

Serena was wrong. The way Elliot was kissing her proved how wrong her mother was. Olivia was loved. She wasn't a freak.

The sudden onslaught of emotions became overwhelming. She felt tears slipping from her eyes and Elliot pulled away quickly. He looked concerned as he dropped his hand away from her body. He looked guilty and scared as though he did something wrong.

"I wasn't that bad, was I?" He tried to joke.

"No, no," Olivia quickly said. "It's not that. It's just-God El, I wanted this for a long time and it's finally happening. I'm not crying because I'm upset. I'm crying because I'm happy, and I know now that my mother was wrong about everything."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. "Well, I'm glad she was wrong," he whispered against her skin. "And once this is all over, I want to continue to prove her wrong."

"Once this is all over," she promised. "Assuming we get out of this alive."

"We will," Elliot said. "I might not be much use against a vampire, but you, Dana, and...well you guys got this."

She narrowed her eyes. "And what, Elliot?"

"Well...I might have convinced that Fin kid to help."

It dawned on her as she thought back on the abrupt end to the conversation Elliot was having with the werewolf and the secretive phone call just hours prior. Elliot was recruiting back up. The more she thought about it, the less sense it made though. Why was it a secret? She'd welcome the extra help.

"He was always welcome to come help, but why were you being all secretive about it?"

He hesitated for a split second, but it was long enough for her to notice. "I didn't think you'd want to get anyone else involved. I know you Liv. You like to take care of things yourself. I know you don't even want me here."

His response made sense and he wasn't wrong. "You're right about that, but that's because you could get killed."

"Ah, well, it's not the first time I've risked my life for you. Making sure you're safe is my only priority right now. I'm not afraid of dying. You are going to have to do a lot more than concerns of death to scare me away."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"I know, but you love it."

"Don't push your luck, Stabler."

He chuckled and fed the fire with more kindling and wood. "Try to get some sleep. You're going to need it a lot more than I will."

"You need to sleep too."

"I'll be fine. Go, Liv. I'll be in when I get tired. Dana said the wards would let us know if anything comes around. I'll be okay."

His words seemed to put a spell on her and she suddenly felt tired. "Okay," she said reluctantly before kissing his lips once more. "Wake me up if you hear anything."

"Will do."

"I mean it, Elliot."

"I'll wake you. Now go to bed."

She stood and made her way to the tent. Quietly, she unzipped the flipped and crawled carefully and quietly inside. She zipped up the entrance and turned to find Dana looking at her in the dark.

"I thought he'd never get out of here," the other brunette whispered. "I was pretending to sleep spread eagle to get him out there to talk to you."

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"What I mean is I was tired of hearing you two thinking about each other so I, being a good friend, gave you two a moment. I'm happy for you, Olivia. Once this is all over, I'm teaching the both of you mental blocks though. I never want to hear what y'all are thinking again."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realized I made a huge error. I had named my lovely werewolf oc Fin and didn't even think about svu Fin. I apologize if this caused any confusion. I went back and renamed werewolf Fin. He is now known as Luke. Again, I'm so sorry if this caused any confusion. I literally didn't even think about it because I liked the name Fin. You'd think being 13 chapters into this fic I would have caught this error a long time ago.

Olivia woke to the smell of meat being cooked over a fire. She sat up and noticed she was alone in the tent. Elliot's sleeping bag laid undisturbed next to her and she knew he had never come to bed. She got out of her own sleeping bag and pulled her shoes on before unzipping the tent flap. Elliot was cooking pieces of the canned meat over the fire as Dana was mixing something into a steaming tin can.

"Look who decided to join us," Elliot said as Olivia emerged from the tent. "Want some breakfast? Sorry, it's not anything fancy, but Spam sandwiches are good."

"Sure," Olivia said, scrunching her nose as she sat in front of the fire. "Not like there's a diner anywhere around here." She watched as Elliot cooked more of the meat over the fire and took the bottle of water Dana handed her. "Anything happen while I was out?"

"Nothing," Dana confirmed. "The wards didn't alert us. Though I'm sure they'll be going off soon. That Luke guy is coming, yes?"

"Oh, so you know about that?" Elliot asked as he rotated the stick he held over the fire.

"Of course," Dana said, rolling her eyes. "Among other things that involve the two of you."

Olivia exchanged a look with Elliot and saw his face was as flushed as her own. She suppressed a laugh and continued to watch him cooking her breakfast. Just as he assembled the sandwich and handed it to her, an ear-piercing shriek echoed throughout the forest.

"That'll be the wards," Dana said when the shriek faded away a few seconds later. "And that'll be Luke coming up the hill now."

"Jesus Christ," came the familiar voice of the werewolf.

Olivia turned to see the young man trudging up over the crest of the hill with a heavy-looking backpack swinging from his shoulder. He was covered in sweat and smelled like the earth.

"Our alarm system, apparently," Elliot said. "It's good to see you again. Find the place alright?"

"Once I picked up all your scents, sure," Luke answered, dropping his back to the ground and sitting next to the fire. "Any word on the vampire?"

"Not yet," Olivia answered. "I thought he'd be here last night."

"Don't you think that's a little worrying? That he's taking his time?" Luke proposed as he dug around in his pack.

"Not really. He wants us to make us wait and suffer," Elliot said. "It's all a mental game."

"Has there been any chatter?" Dana asked, looking between Elliot and the werewolf.

Luke shook his head. "Haven't heard anything. That's not really saying much though. I was exiled from my pack, and most of the magical community thinks werebeings are scum, so we're not exactly welcomed by the company. I only know as much as I do because I keep my head down and observe.."

"For what it's worth, I don't think werebeings are scum," Dana sympathized.

"I don't either," Olivia added. Her heart ached for Luke. She knew all too well what it felt like to be alone in the world.

"Thanks," Luke replied, pulling out a canteen of water and taking a long drink from it. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, until our blood-lusting friend shows up, just preparing," Dana said. "I need to catch Olivia up to speed on some things."

"What do you want me to do?" Elliot asked as he rose to his feet. "I want to help."

"There's really not much you can do," Dana said, narrowing her eyes almost suspiciously. "You're not going to stand a chance against a vampire."

* * *

Olivia could hear Luke explaining the weak points on a vampire's body as she and Dana made spell bags. Olivia wasn't sure she understood the use of the bags, but according to Dana, the right combination of herbs and magic could be used to their advantage.

"It's like the bag you used to track him," Dana had told her. "Only this time when you light them on fire they can incapacitate Ashby."

As Olivia measured out the belladonna for her current bag, she couldn't help but notice Dana eyeing Elliot and Luke. The other woman's eyes would flick to the men, then to Olivia, before back to her own work. Olivia felt like she was still missing out on something. Elliot's explanation of why he had been so secretive still left her with questions, and now Dana's current suspicious attitude towards the pair only made Olivia feel worse. What was so horrible that no one was telling her?

"I'm not stupid. What's going on?" Olivia asked, determined to get to the bottom of it. She tied off the bag she was working on and set it aside, waiting for Dana to answer.

Dana sighed and set the bag of wolfsbane she held aside. She bit her lip in thought before speaking. "Elliot doesn't want you to know," she said.

Olivia's stomach dropped as her anxiety began to skyrocket. "Know what?"

"About the deal he made with Luke."

Olivia felt her heart speed up as every possibility ran through her mind. What deal could Elliot make with a werewolf? Elliot offered nothing that Luke could want. Elliot, as much as she loved him, was only a human. A human who was foolishly following her down the dangerous path she found herself on. Then it struck her like a train. Elliot would do _anything_ to help her. "He wants to be turned?"

Dana nodded. "He thinks it's the only way to help you. He made a deal with Luke that if Luke turns him, he'll join the pack Luke's putting together and support him as Alpha."

Olivia's head was spinning as pieces of the puzzle began to make sense. Elliot had been so secretive because he knew she wouldn't approve. He told her a half-truth to stop her from worrying. She understood why he'd go to those lengths. Elliot had never been one to sit on the sidelines. She knew he wanted to help her and protect her, but putting himself in danger and taking extreme risks was the furthest thing from what she wanted for him.

"He can't do that," Olivia said. "He can't throw away his life like that."

"But he wants to because he loves you and wants to keep you safe," Dana responded as she continued to pack herbs into the tiny cloth bags. "I don't think you're going to change his mind."

"I have to try, don't I?" Olivia stood and walked over to where Luke and Elliot were grappling with each other. She watched the two tussle for a moment before clearing her throat to make herself known. "El?" She said, nodding her head towards the tree line.

Elliot slipped out of the hold Luke had on him and followed her. "What's going on?" Elliot asked.

She crossed her arms as she looked him up and down. She'd always been able to read his mood and right now, she could sense guilt. "Were you going to tell me?"

He swallowed. "Tell you what?"

"Elliot, don't play games with me. Dana told me what's going on, and frankly, I don't know how you thought you could hide that from someone with her abilities. Do you know how dangerous that is? Do you know how impractical it is?"

"Liv," he sighed. "How am I supposed to help you? I'm just a normal human. I don't have magical powers. I don't have super strength or speed or anything. How am I supposed to just stand aside and watch you deal with this or anything else from your world on your own?"

"I appreciate you wanting to help, I do," Olivia responded softly. "But becoming a werewolf isn't how you can help me. It's dangerous. What if you don't survive the transformation? I've read in the journals that can happen."

"Luke says it's rare."

"And what about your kids? Your job? What about me? You are going to have to isolate yourself until you can control your transformations. You could get someone killed if you don't."

"I won't kill anyone," he responded with confidence.

"But you don't know that!" She replied with a raised, frustrated voice. "But what if you can't control yourself and you hurt someone? What if you got caught? What if you get yourself killed?"

"And what if you got yourself into a situation where you got hurt or killed and I could have prevented it? What if Ashby is just the beginning? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you and I could have done something. We can't keep talking about what-ifs, Liv."

"You can't throw away everything for me."

"And you can't go it alone anymore."

"I've gone this long without anyone's help, haven't I?"

"Because until now you've never encountered any true danger."

"You're not doing this, Elliot. I won't let you."

"You don't get to make that decision."

"I hate to break you two up," Dana called out from her spot next to the fire. "But we're about to have company."

As Olivia turned to look at Dana, the shrieking from the wards around them sounded once more. Through the trees, three figures could be seen walking calmly towards them. As they got closer, Olivia recognized Nathan in the middle, but the two others flanking him she did not know. One was a woman with fiery hair and bright red eyes. She wore knee-high boots, tight leather pants, and a black cropped top. The other was a man with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and dark red eyes. He was dressed casually in a t-shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. Their eyes darted around the camp, taking in every potential threat and ways to escape.

When they stopped at the edge of the encampment, Nathan looked around the clearing. He then turned to Olivia and smiled at her. Olivia felt a chill run down her spine at the sight of the sinister look on his face.

Nathan stepped forward from his two companions and opened his arms, gesturing around the campsite before he spoke. "Well, isn't this charming."


End file.
